Jatiya Party (Japa) Chairman Golam Mohammad (GM) Quader said, ‘You (government) will reform by excluding half the people of the country, you will judge, judge in your own style and hold elections, I don’t know how long it will last. In the history of Bangladesh, the reforms that have been carried out by excluding everyone have never survived. If the people of the country cannot make an amendment, that amendment will never survive.’
GM Quader said these things at a publication festival at Jahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall in the capital’s National Press Club on Saturday afternoon. On this day, the covers of two books written by GM Quader titled ‘Bangladesh Democracy, Sonar Patharbati’ and ‘Miserys of Democracy Misconceived’ were unveiled. Publishing house ‘Akash’ organizes.
GM Quader commented that all the elections since 2014 have been ‘fixed’. He said, ‘Since 2014, all the elections that have been held till now, have been organized elections. There has been a predetermined election.’
Taking a dig at the Election Commission and the Interim Government, Jappa Chairman said, ‘We should congratulate the Election Commission and the Interim Government. The interim government rigged the February 2026 elections very cleverly. The interim government has very cleverly fooled the locals and foreigners, fooled us. Such a rigged election has never happened in the history of Bangladesh.
Challenging them by citing ‘voters’, ‘centres’, ‘voting time’ and ‘mathematical calculation of vote casting’, GM Quader said, ‘Such elections are about who will be won, who will be lost, who will be kicked out—they have done it completely in advance. As much as you have shown in this election, as much as you have seen vote counting, that vote counting is impossible. It didn’t happen, it couldn’t happen.’
GM Quader commented that Awami League’s ‘one-sided election’ has started since 2014. He said, ‘After the war of liberation, the eternal desire of the people of the independent state was freedom from discrimination. But even though we got our own country, we did not get rid of discrimination. Although there is democracy in the constitution, we have not actually got that democracy. The people got controlled democracy.’
The speech of the main discussant famous essayist, political thinker and president of Bangla Academy Professor Abul Kasem Fazlul Haque said, ‘Our whole history says that Bengali political talent, political talent is not found in this nation. Ruled by foreigners.’
Abul Kasem also said, ‘Let our thinking about politics develop. Those who do politics, if they write something, that writing is generally more important than the writing of others.’
Regarding the role of the current opposition party, senior journalist Masud Kamal said, ‘We have always thought that there should be a strong opposition party in the country. There was an election, we got a parliament. The opposition party that we got in the National Parliament through that election, we do not call it the opposition party.’
Masud Kamal expressed his opinion and said, ‘The opposition is happening in the field, these are public shows. I think, personally morally these groups are actually the same.’
Journalist Anis Alamgir commented that there is a lack of democratic political parties in Bangladesh. He said, ‘A major political party has been banned. Another political party is in power and another political party is in opposition and they have A-team, B-team, C-team all. There is no other political party. In this situation, Bangladesh needs a larger political party, which can play an opposition role. It is very important now.’
Journalist Manjurul Alam Panna commented that if the Jatiya Party had strongly opposed the Awami League, the country would not have faced militancy. He said, ‘Militism, extremism stood high during Dr. Yunus’ government.’
Jatiya Party presidium member and general secretary Shamim Haider Patwari, Iqbal Hossain Tapas, journalist Kazi Ronak Hossain and others also spoke at the event under the chairmanship of publisher Alamgir Sikder Lawton.
