CT Online Desk:

BNP today accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of pushing people in harm's way by establishing an "autocratic regime" in the country. "Transforming one-party rule into an autocratic regime, Sheikh Hasina is putting the people of Bangladesh in danger," BNP Senior Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said at a press conference held at the party's Nayapaltan office. Rizvi, naming 59 jailed leaders including party chief Khaleda Zia, said the government has deprived them of their fundamental rights and demanded their immediate release.

"Government's oppression has made the lives of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and thousands of jailed party leaders and activists miserable, suffocative, "said Rizvi. "They have been subjected to the worst kind of oppression by depriving them of all fundamental rights," he added. Rizvi alleged that jailed BNP leaders including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and thousands of others are living an inhuman life without medical treatment even if they fall ill.

"While opposition parties, international rights groups and democratic nations have protested the government's oppression of BNP leaders, the government have ignored the calls," he said. He alleged that through the oppression of the opposition, Hasina has established a "one-person rule" in Bangladesh through a "dummy election".

"Bangladesh has now become a hostage to Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina was her own opponent in this North Korea-styled election," Rizvi said."He has become the new model of autocratic dictatorship in the world," he said. The BNP leader demanded the January 7 general election be annulled and BNP leaders freed -- "a demand that was now also echoing globally." "The people of Bangladesh do not want North Korean-style elections and single-party democracy," he added. 

DCT/OL/AH/END