UNB, Dhaka :Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad on Thursday urged the political parties to engage in talks shunning violence for finding out an acceptable way for holding a fair and inclusive election in the interest of the country.”Let’s sit together and create a congenial atmosphere…shun violence and let’s discuss how to hold a fair election,” he said. The deposed President made the call while addressing a grand rally of Jatiya Party at Suhrawardy Udyan, marking its 29th founding anniversary.Ershad, also a special envoy to the Prime Minister, threatened to wage a strong street movement if the government raises the prices of power oil and gas further.”We’ve heard the government is going to hike the prices of power, oil and gas. If it’s done, we’ll take to the streets coming out of parliament,” he said.The former military ruler also urged the government not to inflict sufferings on the poor by hiking the power and petroleum prices.Claiming that nearly Tk 14,000 crore has been siphoned off over the last few years, Ershad urged the government to bring the money back anduse it in subsidizing the energy sector. Ershad narrated various development activities carried out during his tenure, and claimed that his government was legitimate one as per the country’s constitution. The Jatiya Party chairman lamented that the country now lacks good governance as corruption has spread to everywhere.He placed an 18-point point demand, including establishing provincial government, restoring good governance, freeing the judiciary and administration from politicisation, and educational institutions from terrorism, rooting out corruption, overhauling the electoral system, giving the Election Commission full independence, rescinding the decision to hike gas and power prices and banning destructive activities like hartal.”We present the 18-charter of demand to the government and it must materialise those. Or else, we together with people will wage a movement on the streets to realise our demands,” Ershad told the rally.If the government fails to implement their 18-point charter, he said, they will do it when Jatiya Party will come to power. Ershad said, he had urged all parties to join the January-5 election as there was no other opposition to protect democracy.He alleged that the current government could not fulfil people’s hopes and aspirations due to spate in killings, enforced disappearances, corruption and terrorism, politicisation, and for lack of good governance.The Jatiya Party chief accused BNP of introducing the politics of vengeance in the country and said its chief Khaleda Zia is now suffering as an outcome of the bad politics she initiated.Addressing the programme, opposition leader Raushon Ershad urged party leaders and activists to work together forgetting the divisions among them. “We don’t want to see division in the party. I sincerely call upon all to work together.”She also urged the Jatiya Party leaders, including Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Moudud Ahmed and Anwar Hossain Monju, who left the party on various occasions to rejoin it.The opposition leader said Jatiya Party is out of power for nearly 24 years though it had carried out many good works. “So, now we have to identify the problems and resolve those.”
