Dhaka: BNP on Monday alleged that the government is conspiring to keep popular BNP leaders out of election races by punishing them in ‘false’ cases.

‘A popular leader like Sadeque Hossain Khoka has been disqualified from contesting the election. It’s a big conspiracy,’ said BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan.

Speaking at a protest meeting, he further said. ‘The government knows very well that it must hold an election today or tomorrow. So, they’re now trying to keep our party’s popular leaders like Khoka out of the race.’

Sutrapur thana unit BNP arranged the programme protesting the punishment against Khoka by a court in a graft case.

On 21 October, a Dhaka court sentenced Sadeque Hossain Khoka to 13 years’ imprisonment in a case for amassing wealth illegally and concealing information about that. The BNP senior leader, now in the USA, was tried in absentia.

Nazrul, a BNP standing committee member, said democracy, for which the people liberated the country, is now completely aborted.

He urged the government to restore democracy and people’s rights to carry out political activities. ‘We want to get back our democratic rights, civic rights and human rights. We also want to exercise these rights peacefully.’

Nazrul urged BNP leaders and activists to get united under the leadership of their chairperson Khaleda Zia to intensify their movement to force the government to hold an election and restore people’s voting rights.