Jamaat using religion for votes: BNP’s Farroque

BNP Chairperson's Advisory Council member Zainul Abedin Farroque today urged Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami to apologise for its past mistakes and participate in the upcoming national election.

Speaking at a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club, he said: “I saw in a newspaper that they [Jamaat] said PR is not needed if people don’t want it. May Almighty Allah guide them on this holy Jummah day. I urge them to change their political strategy, apologise for past mistakes, and join the election.”

Farroque accused Jamaat of making demands to delay the polls while campaigning for votes using religion. “On the one hand, they say they won’t contest without PR or a referendum. On the other, they’ve declared 300 candidates and are campaigning from mosques, telling people they’ll go to heaven if they vote for the ‘scale’ symbol. These are not my words; people in my constituency are saying this,” he noted.

The former opposition chief whip said BNP is not worried about Jamaat’s campaign. “I told my people, don’t worry. Put your faith in Allah. The nation knows that the party of Shaheed Zia, Begum Khaleda Zia, and Tarique Rahman has never betrayed the people while in power.”