Accusing the government of setting the old trap again to hold a stage-managed national election, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday said no plot will work this time as people have woken up to establish their voting rights.

Speaking at a discussion, he also alleged that Awami League cannot tolerate the dissidents as the party has a feudalistic characteristic.

“They (govt) are devising an evil plan to play games with the election and stage a farce so that they can get elected again. But the people of Bangladesh won’t fall into that trap anymore. You have been fooling people repeatedly, but you won’t succeed this time,” the BNP leader said.

Jatiya Gonotantrik Party (Jagpa) arranged the programme titled “No Alternative to Holding Election under a Non-Partisan Neutral Government to Establish Democracy” at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).

Fakhrul said their party wants the caretaker government system not to go to power, but to restore people’s voting and other rights. “We want every people to exercise their right and cast their own vote for whoever they want and thus an elected parliament will be formed.”

The BNP leader alleged that the government has been deceiving people as they think the country’s people do not understand anything. “We’re coming out of this situation. We’re sacrificing lives. Already, we’ve sacrificed 17 lives while our several thousand leaders and activists have been arrested and jailed."

He called upon people from all walks of life to wake up more to intensify the current movement and realise their rights and force the government to accept the demand for holding the next election under a caretaker government.

“We have a very short time in our hands as they (govt) are conspiring to put on a show in the name of election to dodge the global community…they’re now not obstructing us from holding meeting like before. This is their trick,” the BNP leader observed.