Thousands join BNP rally in Mymensingh ignoring ruling party obstructions

Staff Reporter :
Thousands of BNP supporters joined the party’s second divisional rally in Mymensingh on Saturday amid alleged obstructions of the ruling Awami League, including the suspension of public transport since Friday night.
The BNP alleged that the ruling party workers and state machinery tried to dilute people’s spontaneous participation in their mass rallies protesting government’s misrule, spiraling price hike of daily essentials, power crisis and killing of their activists.
In the rally, BNP demanded for the resignation of the government immediately, holding the general election under the caretaker government, withdrawal of all false cases against the party men including BNP acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.
Though no serious confrontation between ruling Awami League and BNP supporters was reported during the rally, some three BNP workers were injured by ruling party men at the railway station when BNP men were about to leave the spot.
Out of the 10 divisional rallies, BNP held the second rally with the allegation that the local Awami League activists had prevented their activists and workers through different means including forcibly shutting down the transport services, and harassment by the law enforcers.
The ruling party men equipped with sticks and local weapons were allegedly seen in different parts of Mymensing including Muktagachha, Tarakanda and Fulbaria and elsewhere in Chandana and Trishal to Thousands join BNP rally prevent plying of vehicles and people’s movement in suspicion.
Even a community centre worker Mobarak Hossain, 33, came under attack by a group of miscreants who suspected him and his people of going to join the BNP rally. The incident took place at Uthuri intersection of Gofargaon Upazila on Saturday morning when they were going there to work for a wedding ceremony.
It was alleged that the ruling party men searched every vehicle in suspicion to curtail their movement and even they behaved badly with the drivers and passengers who wanted to ply vehicles.
Some 200 workers and activists of the ruling party gathered before the Trishal Bazar in the morning with sticks and wooden planks, preventing vehicular movement.
Even the Awami League workers were seen standing in various roads of Bhaluka and Sreepur of Gazipur to prevent the BNP supporters’ movement to join the rally.
As the inter-district bus services were closed in Sherpur, about four thousand BNP leaders and workers travelled from Satpakia Ghat of Brahmaputra River by about 36 trawlers and boats to join the rally. Many workers joined the rally barefooted amid the obstruction. Even some BNP men spent their nights at the venue under the open sky.
Meanwhile, BNP also alleged that the law enforcers raided different hotels in Mymensingh where the BNP workers passed the night before joining the rally at the Polytechnic Ground.
The opposition also raised the allegation of harassment and detention of their party men who were staying in different hotels and houses before joining their first grand rally in Chattogram on October 12.
However, BNP said that nothing could obstruct them from holding their ongoing movement to ‘restore democracy’ and people’s voting rights by toppling the government.
Against all obstructions, BNP leaders and activists from Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Netrakona and Tangail attended the rally.
BNP central leaders including party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir attended the rally, with Mymensingh Metropolitan BNP convener Professor AKM Shafiqul Islam presided over.
Hundreds and thousands of BNP supporters and activists in different groups began to swarm at the venue since morning with slogans and holding bunches of paddy sheaf, national flags, banners and festoons in their hands.
Local police said that around 600 police and other law enforcing agencies were deployed in the venue to avoid any undesirable incidents.
As the vehicular movement especially the buses were shut down just before the night of the grand rally, the party workers walked to the rally ground either on foot or pick-up vans or motorcycles from far distances.
Meanwhile, the inter-district bus services to and from Mymensingh division were suspended since Friday night to stop opposition men from joining the rally.
However, the local transport owners rejected BNP’s allegation, saying that they did not stop plying buses fearing vandalism ahead of the rally.
“We did not suspend the plying of buses under coercion. Bus owners can do it voluntarily. Many said that they don’t want to run buses in fear of vandalism,” Mymensingh District Motor Vehicle Owners’ Association President Momtaz Uddin said.
 “This is a strategy of the ruling party to prevent our workers from joining the rally. Nothing can stop us from joining the mass uprising,” Organising Secretary of BNP divisional committee Syed Imran Saleh Prince said.
Meanwhile, the common people suffered the worst due to the closure of the public transports on different roads.
Meanwhile, addressing the rally, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alam said, “The government has imposed hartal and curfew unannounced to foil our rally. But our leaders and workers joined the rally defying all obstruction.”
Criticising the government for destroying democracy, he said, “Awami League has destroyed democracy every time. An autocratic rule is going on under the garb of democracy. People do not fear the roaring of the government. Awami League will be washed away by the waves of movements.”
Expressing doubts over fair polls, he said, “A fair election is not possible under the Awami League government. The government has to resign immediately. We want to make it clear that fair polls are not possible under the partisan government. It has been proven.”
Mentioning the recently held Gaibandha-5 election, he said, “About 1,380 CCTVs were set for surveillance. There were a huge number of security personnel including Police and RAB. The Election Commission cancelled the polls by midday. It proves that fair polls are not possible under a partisan government.”
As part of the preannounced divisional grand rally programmes, BNP will conclude the rallies in the capital on 10 December.