Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Monday said there is no scope of changing the government without elections.

The AL general secretary said the BNP wanted to change the government but it did not join polls. “If you want to change the government, you must join elections. There is no scope of changing the government without elections,” he added.

He made this remark while talking to reporters after joining an exchange meeting at the head office of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) in the morning.

Obaidul Quader said Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) wants to seize the state power through conspiracy by satisfying its foreign masters.

Responding to an allegation of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir that the incumbent Election Commission (EC) has no power, Quader said the statement Fakhrul made about an independent and constitutional institution is nothing but a mockery to the country’s democracy, all lawmakers and the constitution and the rule of law, BSS reports.

“In fact, the BNP has no trust in the country’s constitution and the rule of law,” he added.

About the BNP’s demand of a neutral government during the election period, Quader said the people have already seen the ‘so-called neutral elections’ held by BNP.

Once the BNP chief said there is no neutral one except children and madmen, so the double-standard policy of the BNP leaders about neutral elections has become clear again, he said.

The polls-time government is a settled issue by the High Court and there is no scope of discussion again to this end, the AL general secretary said.

He said elections will be free and fair only if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is in power. She does not want any kind of interference in the elections, he added.

Noting that the government will cooperate with the EC, like other democratic countries, in conducting free and fair elections, Quader said even if the government remains in power, everything related to elections will be under the EC’s jurisdiction.

Earlier, the road transport and bridges minister exchanged views with the BRTA officials.

Road Transport and Highways Division secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri and BRTA chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder were, among others, present.

Speaking at the meeting, Quader directed the authorities concerned to work with cent percent attention to check traffic congestion and road accidents in the conuntry.

He said political leaders should also come forward to creating public awareness on road safety aiming to prevent road accidents.