BNP standing committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said that they will sit for talks with the Awami League only after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina steps down.

“No condition can be attached to the [polls] dialogue. How can Hasina give conditions since there are allegations against her?” he said at a discussion programme in Dhaka on Friday (Oct 20).

He claimed that the party’s movement has popular support. “There have been many movements after the Liberation War, but never have so many groups joined together. The people are united and protesting to get back the ownership of Bangladesh," he said.

"We will restore the rights of the people by fighting the second Liberation War,” Khosru said.

 BNP is on the streets and will remain on the streets, he said, claiming that the party’s supporters are determined to make the movement successful and are ready to make the supreme sacrifice if needed.

 Amir Khosru said that the government has again undertaken the project of vote rigging. “The ruling party is trying to hold a unilateral election by using all the institutions of the state, leaving the people of the country out. The judiciary is used the most.”

He said the people have taken to the streets to reclaim their rights. “The world’s conscience is with the people of Bangladesh. The widespread scheme of vote rigging must be dismantled,” he said.

 He criticised the government for amending the constitution ‘unconstitutionally’ and without regard for the court's opinions, describing it as an act of deceiving the country.