Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader commented that we are the opposition party but we have not received the signal yet. He said, we have not been able to know anything so far. But we hope that we will get an opinion from the speaker before the start of the parliament session.
He said these things while talking to reporters at Sky View residence in Senpara of Rangpur city on Saturday (January 20) afternoon.
Regarding being in the opposition party at that time, GM Quader said, we were the main opposition party in the last Parliament. We have always played the role of the opposition party for the welfare of the country and nation. We have brought up the demands to be raised on behalf of the people, along with constructive criticism of the government and our recommendations on irregularities and corruption. We are still doing that.
He said that even if the government does not position the Jatiya Party as an opposition party, it will be our responsibility to criticize the government as the only party against the government for the welfare of the country and the nation. Bringing up the government's mistakes in the eyes of the people and recommending them to the parliament to guide the government in the right direction.
He also said that Awami League is one of the two main parties in the current parliament. They formed the government as a party on the basis of the boat symbol. Then we 11 parliamentarians of Jatiya Party with the plough symbol is another political party. And those who are there are within the consensus of Awami League. That is why we think Jatiya Party can play an important role as an opposition party to the government.
GM Quader said that it is within the power of the speaker to appoint the Leader of Opposition or other posts. Although we know overall it (opposition) should be won by Jatiya Party. What we have decided is that we have taken a resolution from the Jatiya Party parliamentary group proposing me as the leader of the opposition, Anisul Islam Mahmud as the deputy leader and Mujibul Haque Chunnu as the chief whip. We submitted that to the Honorable Speaker through a letter.
There were protests in Dhaka after the election. Many have been expelled. There are rumors that the party is breaking up and a new party is also being formed. Regarding the position of the Jatiya Party in this situation, the JP Chairman said, Jatiya Party has been a victim of conspiracy for a long time. There have been many conspiracies against the Jatiya Party at different times since its withdrawal from the government. Many things worked in this case. Hussain Muhammad Ershad, the founder chairman of our party, had a huge popularity. His opponents tried to spoil it in various ways. There have been many conspiracies and lies, which have later been proven false. But now I don't see the possibility of the breakup being talked about.
At that time, he said that he has not received any signal so far in the matter of becoming an opposition party. However, he hoped to get an opinion from the speaker before the start of the parliament session.