UNB, Dhaka: BNP did not get any positive response from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) till Saturday evening about the permission it sought to hold a rally in the city marking what it says ‘Democracy Killing Day’ on Monday. A three-member BNP delegation, led by party chairperson’s adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo, went to the DMP office at noon for the second time to talk about the permission for the rally, but failed to meet its top brasses as they were out of the office. The two other delegation members are BNP publicity secretary Zainul Abedin Farroque and assistant office secretary Abdul Latif Jony. Talking to reporters, Farroque said they did not find any top officials at the DMP office to get their version about the permission for the rally. He said though they formally sought permission from the DMP authorities on December 22 to hold a rally in the city and subsequently tried to get the update about it, the authorities are unnecessarily buying time in this regard. The BNP leader said they will stage their rally even if they are denied permission. “We’re frequently coming to them for permission as we believe in democracy. We hope, we’ll finally get the permission.” The party sought permission from the DMP authorities to hold a rally either at Suhrawardy Udyan, Shapla Chhatra or in front of its Nayapaltan central office on January 5. But the ruling party also announced to hold rallies at 16 points of the city, including Suhrawardy Udyan, on the day marking the ‘Victory Day for Democracy’. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday at a press conference said the BNP-led 20-party alliance will stage countrywide demonstrations with black flags and hold a rally in the capital on Monday to observe the day protesting the January-5 election. She also hoped that the government would allow them to stage their peaceful programmes. Party sources said BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia asked her party’s senior leaders to be present at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office by 10:30am on January-5 to hold a rally there even though the government denies permission.
