Hindu, Buddhist, Christians to float political party
Nurul Alam . Chittagong
The Bangladesh Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad is preparing to float a new political party within the next one month to voice the grievances and opinions of the religious minorities as well as to campaign for and ensure their rights and interests.
Bangladesh is the home to about two crore religious minority people belonging to Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian faiths, who are generally considered as a traditional vote bank of the Awami League.
‘We are going to float the new political party to lend voice to and ensure the rights of the oppressed, humiliated, depressed, and poor religious minority communities. Our grievances remain unheard and uncared for as neither the Awami League nor the BNP speaks for us,’ Binod Bihari Chowdhury, BHBCOP Chittagong city president, told New Age on Friday.
‘We will hold a meeting of the community leaders of our forum very soon to finalise the preparations for launching the political platform,’ he said, adding, ‘I think our party will be announced within a month.’
Binod and BHBCOP Chittagong city general secretary Rana Dasgupta had filed nomination papers on behalf of the forum to contest the upcoming general elections for Chittagong-9 (Kotwali) and Chittagong-8 (Double Mooring) constituencies but later withdrew the papers for what they said was the lack of an atmosphere congenial to free and fair polls.
‘We cannot contest the polls with a flawed voters’ roll. But there is a rumour that we have withdrawn from the electoral race in line with the decision of the mega combine led by the Awami League, which is not true at all,’ Binod said.
‘We went for the candidature in the polls for the first time just to send a test message to the nation that we are preparing to float a separate political platform to fight for our cause,’ Binod explained.
He criticised both AL and BNP leaders saying they were involved in politics merely to capture the power, not to do serve the people or assuage their sufferings.
A number of local AL and BNP leaders, however, denied the allegation.
Binod, a veteran of anti-British movement, also said, ‘It is very unfortunate that the Awami League, known as a secular party, has struck a deal with an Islamic fundamentalist party like Khelafat Majlish. We seriously condemn the pact.’ He regretted that ‘nobody appreciates the sacrifices we made for the country’s independence from Pakistan as well as the British Raj. We have always been deprived of our due rights.’
The new political party, if floated, will nominate candidates for many constituencies across the country in case the parliamentary polls are held under a deferred schedule and in a free and fair atmosphere, Binod added.
Sources said the BHBCOP was planning to float the political party to use it as a body for bargaining with the mainstream political parties about the rights of the religious minorities and for special facilities for them.
Source: http://www.newagebd.com/2007/jan/06/front.html#5