Dhaka: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday renewed its call to the government for engaging in talks with it on national issues like arranging an inclusive election, reconstituting of the Election Commission and consolidating democracy.

‘We earlier demanded the government hold an effective dialogue with us to strengthen the Election Commission and democracy. We renew our call for holding talks over national issues to make democratic institutions functional and arrange inclusive polls,’ said BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon.

The BNP leader came up with the fresh demand at a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office.

Mentioning that a strong opposition party is necessary for strengthening democratic process, he bemoaned that the government is trying to eliminate BNP from the country.

Ripon, one of the BNP’s international affairs secretaries, alleged that their party cannot carry out normal activities as the government has squeezed their political and democratic space by resorting to repressive acts and implicating the opposition leaders and activists in political cases.

‘We urge the government to shun its evil efforts to destroy the opposition. We want a guarantee so that we can carry out normal political activities,’ he said.

The BNP leader also demanded the government immediately release their leaders and activists and withdraw the political cases field against them.

He said the government is filing cases against the BNP leaders and activists one after another in a bid to weaken the opposition. ‘It has been proved time and again that political parties can’t be made weak by implicating its leaders and activists in false cases and sending them to jail.’

‘The government might be there in power for the time being by subduing the opposition, but it has lost its popularity as it weakened democratic institutions,’ Ripon added.