BNP ready for tougher movement, strikes, blockades to follow
Reza Mahmud :
The main opposition party-BNP has prepared its draft for the final stage of agitation aimed at ousting the Awami League government through a tougher movement, party insiders said.
Party sources said, BNP’s next course of action will begin with programmes like sit-in and siege and these will be geared up through strikes and blockades.
BNP policy makers said that their main target is to ensure resignation of the AL regime and form an election-time neutral government to pave the way for holding the next polls in a free, fair and inclusive manner.
Senior leaders and policy makers of the party said that they have so far shunned these types of programmes to avoid political violence.
The party has organised road marches, rallies and such others peaceful programmes for the past several months.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party-BNP Standing Committee Member Dr. Abdul Moin Khan on Sunday said that the Awami League government has snatched all democratic rights of the people.
“This government has no right to stay in power any more as it is not a democratically elected one.
They have snatched the state power without peoples’ vote.
This government also has snatched all democratic rights of the people of the country,” Dr. Moin Khan said while addressing a rally of the road march on a play ground in Kishoreganj.
The party high-ups have assessed that such peaceful programmes might not compel the government to resign before holding the next general election as per their demand.
The Awami League has conducted the last two elections in 2014 and 2018 ignoring BNP’s demand of holding those polls under a neutral government.
The BNP leaders believe there is no way to restore democracy in the country by holding fair and participatory polls under the AL government.
In this situation, the BNP is determined to exert maximum pressure on the government to resign before the polls and pave the way of forming a election-time neutral government.
When contacted, BNP Standing Committee Member Goyeswar Chandra Roy told The New Nation, “The agitation programmes must be changed as per the demand of the time.”
“The tougher agitation programme would be announced in time,” he said.
Goyeswar Chandra Roy, however, asked the party men to get ready for observing strike and blockade programmes soon, while addressing a road march programme recently.
Talking to The New Nation, Barkatullah Bulu, BNP Vice-Chairman, said, “We are organising number of peaceful programmes including road marches and rallies across the country as a warm-up routine programme. Those events were ogranised as part of preparations for a tougher movement which is coming soon.”
When contacted, BNP Senior Joint-Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told The New Nation, “Harsh political programmes would be organised soon to achieve the demand for conducting the next polls under a neutral government.”
When contacted, BNP Joint-Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal told The New Nation, “All of our programmes will be peaceful. The party high-ups will decide on the next course of action.
The fresh programmes and will be announced soon before the media.”
The senior leaders said the final phase of the agitation would begin with sit-ins and encirclement and those will be followed by strikes and blockades.
The party’s ongoing 15-day programmes would be ended in October 3, then it will announce its next course of action as the party has a target to wage a stern movement in October.
The party wants to oust the AL government before announcement of the schedule of the 12th parliamentary polls slated for late December this year or early January 2024.
Despite having a plan for waging the tougher movement, the BNP this time remains alert about the blames it incurred for the violent street movement before the 2014 polls.
At that time the BNP enforced strikes and blockades demanding establishing an election-time caretaker government. Many public transports came under arson attacks that left many passengers dead and injured.
The ruling Awami League was castigating the BNP for resorting to fire terrorism. Thousands of criminal cases were filed against the BNP leaders and activists for acts of arson.
The party suffered a severe blow as huge leaders and activists were arrested for the attacks on public transports.
However, the BNP refuted the allegations of attacking public transports though the incidents took place during their agitation programme.
The BNP was of the opinion that the AL activists and government agents had carried out those attacks and then shifted the blames on it.
During a recent incident, it was seen that a microbus carrying BNP men on way to joining a road march programme in Bogura came under attack by miscreants believed to be supporters of the ruling party.
The miscreants vandalised the vehicle and set fire to it leaving least seven BNP men injured. The law enforcers were seen reluctant to take actions against the attackers.
After this incident, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhurl Islma Alamgir said it is now clear to everyone who set fire to vehicles to blemish the peaceful agitation programmes of the BNP.
