BNP to hold countrywide protest rallies today

Staff Reporter  :
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has announced to hold protest rallies in all cities and district headquarters across Bangladesh today (Monday), protesting at the police and ruling party’s attacks on BNP leaders and activists during its sit-ins in Dhaka on Saturday.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the programme at a press conference at the BNP chairperson’s office in Gulshan in Dhaka on Saturday night.

Addressing the press conference Mirza Fakhrul condemned the violent attacks on BNP’s sit-ins programme that left many leaders and activists of the party injured.

“We planned to hold the protest rally on Sunday. However, we learnt the AL has already declared their programme on that day.

Therefore, we are now announcing our programme for Monday. We decided not to create a crisis by holding the event on the same day,” BNP Secretary General said. “So, we hope that our rights of peaceful demonstration would not be infringed,” he said.

He said that police, ruling Awami League activists and various agency people attacked BNP men without any reason. They also set buses on fire on Saturday and were now trying to accuse BNP for the arson, he added.

“Their [AL and government] people are trying to blame the BNP for the arson attacks on buses. We would request them to stop it as the BNP believes in peaceful political demonstrations,” he said.

Mirza Fakhrul said that, BNP programmes were peaceful. Whenever we call for fair elections, there is violence and oppression.

He said, it was because of the US visa policy that food was served to BNP leader Goyeshwar Chandra at the DB office, and fruits were sent to another BNP leader Amanullah Aman at the hospital.

“They did this to look innocent… They arrested many of our leaders in the past, but they didn’t do anything like this back then. Now they are doing this to avoid getting a visa restriction.”