BNP calls another 48-hour blockade from Sunday
Staff Reporter :
The main opposition party- BNP and like-minded parties will enforce another spell of a 48-hour countrywide road-rail-waterway blockade beginning Sunday to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit power and hold the next election under a non-party caretaker government.
BNP Senior Joint-Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the fresh program at a virtual press briefing on Thursday.
Giving a pause for two days, the fresh blockade was announced around 13 hours before the end of the ongoing 48-hour nationwide blockade enforced at 6am on Wednesday and will be end on Friday morning.
“The blockade will continue until the release of our all arrested leaders and until our one-point demand is met,” Rizvi said.
The ongoing blockade has been marked by widespread incidents of violence, including torching and vandalizing vehicles in different areas across the country.
The other opposition parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who have long been carrying out the simultaneous movement with BNP, also announced a similar program by issuing press releases.
Rizvi said the nationwide blockade program will be observed from 6am Sunday to 6am Tuesday.
The BNP leader also announced a prayer programme on Friday in all mosques after Jummah prayers for the opposition leaders and activists and the garment workers were killed in police firing during their demonstrations across the country.
Rizvi said special munajats will also be offered seeking the salvation of the departed souls of the slain opposition leaders, activists and the garment workers.
The BNP leader said vehicles of the newspapers or media, ambulances and vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders and medicines will remain out of the purview of the blockade.
The BNP leader said their blockade was successful with the spontaneous support of the country’s people.
He thanked leaders and activists of BNP and like-minded parties for making the blockade programme a success.
Earlier, the party enforced a 48-hour nationwide blockade from 6am on November 5 and a three-day countrywide blockade from October 31 to November 2.
They also observed a nationwide dawn-to-dusk strike on October 29 in protest against the attacks on BNP’s grand rally at Nayapaltan that ended amid the incidents of torching vehicles and clashes, leaving three people dead.
