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BNP holds massive anti-govt rally in capital
Thousands of leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliate bodies throng at Golapbagh ground in the Sayedabad area on Saturday amid the BNP's Dhaka divisional mass rally. NN photo
Staff Reporter :
Tens of thousands of BNP supporters staged a massive anti-government rally in Dhaka on Saturday, demanding immediate resignation of the incumbent Awami League government and install a caretaker government before next general elections.
They reached the rally venue at Golapbagh playground in the capital overnight amid tight security measures.
The venue was filled up by BNP leaders, activists and supporters since Friday evening, soon after the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) permitted the party to hold its Dhaka divisional rally.
BNP leaders and activists alleged that they faced difficulties at the police check posts while coming to the rally venue.
The mass rally started at 11:00 am, but the BNP men began converging on the venue in large groups in the early morning. Thousands of party leaders and activists from the capital and different parts of the country joined the rally and the crowd spilled over onto several square kilometres around the rally venue.
Leaders of the party’s district and city units as well as the central committee also joined the rally.
The vehicular movement was suspended on the Golapbagh-Dhalpur-Sayedabad road due to the heavy crowd of the BNP men. Saturday’s rally was the 10th from the main opposition party (BNP) after it announced in September it will hold protests in 10 big cities across the country. All the previous rallies outside Dhaka drew huge crowds despite challenges including what the party said were politically motivated transport strikes and intimidation by security agencies and the ruling party. Both police and the ruling party denied such allegations.
Meanwhile, BNP leaders yesterday alleged that the government did everything to foil their rallies, but could not stop people’s movement.
The party’s standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, while speaking the rally at Golapbagh playground, said, “They tried their best to foil our rallies but it did not work.”
“The 10 divisional rallies are nothing but a warm up. Fresh programmes will be announced and then the movement will be launched to oust the government,” he said.
Selima Rahman, another standing committee member of BNP, said the incumbent government launched “crackdown” on the opposition activists to foil the rally.
She said even party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was arrested but party leaders and activists did not get scared or lose hope.
“People have turned around, they have woken up, even after suffering torture to an extreme extent. They are now united. Nothing can stop people’s movement,” she said.
Selima also asked the party activists to bring people of the country with them to wage its one-point demand movement.
Speaking at the rally BNP’s standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said the people of the country are now fighting to bring back democracy in Bangladesh.
“People of Bangladesh fought for independence, now people have started fighting again to bring back democracy,” he said.
BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the government has called a hartal to thwart the BNP rally.
“A hartal is being observed in Dhaka Saturday. The government has called it. Awami League goons are picketing at the entrances of Dhaka with weapons. They have created terror all over Bangladesh,” he said.
He also questioned whether the government has any authority over the country at the moment.
“The government that has to call a hartal, carry out picketing, are they really in power? I don’t think there is a government in Bangladesh,” said the BNP leader.
Another BNP standing committee member Dr Abul Moyeen Khan said the presence of tens of thousands of people in this rally has once again proved it is not possible to suppress the masses by resorting to brutal repressive acts.
He said the entire world now knows Awami League holds the day’s voting at night. “We want to get rid of it. We will surely restore the voting rights and the people’s ownership of the country through a strong movement.”
Former speaker of the national parliament and BNP standing committee member Jamiruddin Sircar said the caretaker government system must be restored to restore the election system and people’s voting rights and democracy.
BNP Dhaka north city unit convener Amanullah Aman who presided over the rally urged the party leaders and workers to return to their respective homes and destinations peacefully after the end of the programme.
A huge number of law enforcers were deployed around the rally venue while police set up check posts at all entry points of Dhaka.
Besides, BNP’s final divisional rally in Dhaka ended peacefully with a 10-point demand including resignation of ruling Awami League government and dissolving of parliament.
The party’s standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain placed the demands and declared a ‘simultaneous anti-government movement’ on December 24, while speaking at the Golapbagh rally as the chief guest.
Tens of thousands of BNP supporters staged a massive anti-government rally in Dhaka on Saturday, demanding immediate resignation of the incumbent Awami League government and install a caretaker government before next general elections.
They reached the rally venue at Golapbagh playground in the capital overnight amid tight security measures.
The venue was filled up by BNP leaders, activists and supporters since Friday evening, soon after the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) permitted the party to hold its Dhaka divisional rally.
BNP leaders and activists alleged that they faced difficulties at the police check posts while coming to the rally venue.
The mass rally started at 11:00 am, but the BNP men began converging on the venue in large groups in the early morning. Thousands of party leaders and activists from the capital and different parts of the country joined the rally and the crowd spilled over onto several square kilometres around the rally venue.
Leaders of the party’s district and city units as well as the central committee also joined the rally.
The vehicular movement was suspended on the Golapbagh-Dhalpur-Sayedabad road due to the heavy crowd of the BNP men. Saturday’s rally was the 10th from the main opposition party (BNP) after it announced in September it will hold protests in 10 big cities across the country. All the previous rallies outside Dhaka drew huge crowds despite challenges including what the party said were politically motivated transport strikes and intimidation by security agencies and the ruling party. Both police and the ruling party denied such allegations.
Meanwhile, BNP leaders yesterday alleged that the government did everything to foil their rallies, but could not stop people’s movement.
The party’s standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, while speaking the rally at Golapbagh playground, said, “They tried their best to foil our rallies but it did not work.”
“The 10 divisional rallies are nothing but a warm up. Fresh programmes will be announced and then the movement will be launched to oust the government,” he said.
Selima Rahman, another standing committee member of BNP, said the incumbent government launched “crackdown” on the opposition activists to foil the rally.
She said even party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was arrested but party leaders and activists did not get scared or lose hope.
“People have turned around, they have woken up, even after suffering torture to an extreme extent. They are now united. Nothing can stop people’s movement,” she said.
Selima also asked the party activists to bring people of the country with them to wage its one-point demand movement.
Speaking at the rally BNP’s standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said the people of the country are now fighting to bring back democracy in Bangladesh.
“People of Bangladesh fought for independence, now people have started fighting again to bring back democracy,” he said.
BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the government has called a hartal to thwart the BNP rally.
“A hartal is being observed in Dhaka Saturday. The government has called it. Awami League goons are picketing at the entrances of Dhaka with weapons. They have created terror all over Bangladesh,” he said.
He also questioned whether the government has any authority over the country at the moment.
“The government that has to call a hartal, carry out picketing, are they really in power? I don’t think there is a government in Bangladesh,” said the BNP leader.
Another BNP standing committee member Dr Abul Moyeen Khan said the presence of tens of thousands of people in this rally has once again proved it is not possible to suppress the masses by resorting to brutal repressive acts.
He said the entire world now knows Awami League holds the day’s voting at night. “We want to get rid of it. We will surely restore the voting rights and the people’s ownership of the country through a strong movement.”
Former speaker of the national parliament and BNP standing committee member Jamiruddin Sircar said the caretaker government system must be restored to restore the election system and people’s voting rights and democracy.
BNP Dhaka north city unit convener Amanullah Aman who presided over the rally urged the party leaders and workers to return to their respective homes and destinations peacefully after the end of the programme.
A huge number of law enforcers were deployed around the rally venue while police set up check posts at all entry points of Dhaka.
Besides, BNP’s final divisional rally in Dhaka ended peacefully with a 10-point demand including resignation of ruling Awami League government and dissolving of parliament.
The party’s standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain placed the demands and declared a ‘simultaneous anti-government movement’ on December 24, while speaking at the Golapbagh rally as the chief guest.
