The February 12 polls in Bangladesh will be fixed, the son of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a book discussion event here via videoconferencing from the US on Monday evening.

Sajeeb Wazed Joy claimed the Jamaat-e-Islami would have a free hand after the polls, promoting terrorism and posing a threat to India.

“This is not an election, this is a show. The outcome of the election is already set. Jamaat is going to have a completely free hand to do whatever they want,” he said, speaking mostly in English.

“Pakistan is going to have a free hand to do whatever it wants in Bangladesh. So, this has very, very serious security implications for India and its eastern border.”

Joy was the last speaker at the discussion of a book titled Inshallah Bangladesh, organised by Khola Hawa, a socio-cultural and political outfit headed by former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, at the ICCR.

Authored by Deep Halder, Jaideep Mazumdar and Sahidul Hasan Khokon, the book is about post-Hasina Bangladesh. The discussion, moderated by Dasgupta, featured politicians such as author and CPM leader Saira Shah Halim, Pankaj Roy (BJP) and Roahan Mitra (Congress). Two of the co-authors, Halder and Khokon, also
took part.

Joy explained why the election would be a hoax. “No one will get an absolute majority. It is set that BNP will get around 150 seats while Jamaat will get around 120 seats, and they will jointly form the government,” he said.

“They will manipulate the election with crores of fake ballots, as a large number of people will not vote.”

Joy claimed the election would be “one-sided” as not only has the Awami League been banned, but “the ban is effectively on all progressive parties”.

Joy said: “The Bangladesh Jatiya Party, the third-largest party in the country, has been facing attacks. Their offices have been burnt down, many of their leaders are behind bars, and many leaders’ houses have been set on fire. They are not being allowed to conduct election activities.”

He urged the people of Bangladesh to refrain from voting to avoid legitimising the election in favour of Jamaat, which he accused of promoting radical Islam.

“The outcome will not change whether you vote or not. But if you vote, you will legitimise their show,” Joy said.

He alleged that Jamaat hoped to create an Islamic state. “The people of Bangladesh have seen the regime backed by Jamaat,” he said.

“You have had al Qaida operators operating freely in Bangladesh. You have heard Lashkar-e-Toiba commanders speak at public rallies in Bangladesh. That is what is happening. And for India, this should be very, very alarming.

“Regardless of whether BNP comes to power or not, Jamaat is going to be in the driver’s seat. A BNP regime is going to be a puppet of the US. So Jamaat is going to have a completely free hand….”

He said the BNP and its leader Tarique Rahman, who had vehemently opposed a referendum to change the Bangladesh Constitution, had suddenly agreed to it, though such referendums had been declared unconstitutional by Bangladesh courts after being held in the 1980s and 1990s by military dictators.

“The BNP and Tarique Rahman... a few days ago said yes to it. Why? Because the Americans want the referendum...,” Joy said.

“Why? It weakens the power of the Prime Minister and weakens the government. It makes a single-party government almost impossible in Bangladesh, and there will always be a coalition government, which will always be a weak government that they can control.

“Tarique Rahman, at this point, has to do the bidding of the US embassy in Bangladesh. And when he becomes the Prime Minister, he will have to continue to do that because he thinks the US can always bring up corruption charges against him and have him arrested in Bangladesh and sent to the United States.”

Joy urged the international community to speak out against the upcoming election and not let it go ahead. “...If the people of Bangladesh don’t want to support the Awami League, that is fine. Then let them vote against us. Why are you afraid to allow the Awami League to contest the election?

“But this is the last chance to do something. This is the last chance to prevent Jamaat-e-Islami from becoming a major force driving radical Islam and terrorism in Bangladesh.”