by Sajjad Hossain/ Md Abbas in The Daily Star, July 29, 2023
From its mammoth rally in the capital’s Nayapaltan, BNP yesterday announced sit-ins for today at all the major entry points to Dhaka as part of the party’s larger movement to force the government to hold the upcoming national election under a non-party government.
In a late-night development, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said they will not allow any such programmes, but BNP sources said they will go ahead with their planned sit-ins.
The sit-ins will be staged from 11:00am to 4:00pm at nine points.
Dhaka north city unit of BNP will hold sit-ins in front of Uttara BNS Centre and Gabtoli’s SA Khalek Bus Station. Dhaka south city unit will stage those in front of Nayabazar BNP office and in front of Dania College on Chattogram Road at Jatrabari.
The party will also stage sit-ins at Sonir Akhra, Mukti Sarani, Gabtoli and Yousuf Super Market at Nayabazar.
“Our programme [today’s sit-ins] will be completely peaceful and is our constitutional right. We expect that the administration will carry out its constitutional duty to allow us to hold our programmes peacefully. I request the administration and the government again to extend their cooperation,” Fakhrul told the rally joined by tens of thousands of party activists from across the country.
Yesterday’s rally was scheduled to begin at 2:00pm, but the venue was packed with BNP leaders and activists by 9:30am as thousands of party supporters thronged Nayapaltan and its adjacent areas since Thursday night.
Roads and alleys stretching from Fakirapul to Kakrail Mosque were crowded with BNP activists, halting traffic in the area. By noon, the ever-expanding rally crowd spilled over onto nearby roads and streets and spaces up to Shantinagar.
They chanted various anti-government slogans, as they carried banners, festoons, placards, and portraits of the party’s top leaders.
“Go back Hasina, step down Hasina,” one placard read.
“We and 36 political parties, and even those who are not with us, have agreed that there will be no election under the Awami League government. This government must resign, and parliament must be dissolved. The election must be conducted under a non-partisan, neutral government,” Fakhrul said, speaking as chief guest.
“A new Election Commission has to be formed, and the election must be held under that Commission. The aim of our one-point movement is the resignation of the current Awami League government,” he said.
According to him, people have lost confidence in the election system, so there is no point in holding the election under the AL, which has been in power since 2009.
BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman, also elder son of BNP chief Khaleda Zia, delivered a 7.40-minute audio message from London, where he is living since 2008.
Tarique has been convicted in a number of cases in Bangladesh, including on corruption charges. The Daily Star is not publishing any of his statements as there is a High Court ban on printing or airing his speeches since 2015.
Jointly moderated by Abdus Salam, convener of Dhaka South unit BNP and Aman Ullah Aman, convener of Dhaka north unit BNP, the rally was also addressed by BNP standing committee members Abdul Moeen Khan, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Nazrul Islam Khan, Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Vice-chairmen Abdullah Al Noman, Barrister Shahjahan Omar Bir Uttam, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Barkatullah Bulu, AKM Zahidul Islam, Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Advocate Ahmed Azam Khan, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, and BNP central Organising Secretary Shama Obaid and Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal President Afroza Abbas.
Many senior leaders during their speech asked the party rank and file to take an oath not to leave the streets until their demands are met.
The stage was set up on nine trucks with the red carpets rolled out to the stage, and loudspeakers were installed at and around the venue. Two separate stages were set up for cultural activists and journalists. Pro-BNP cultural organisations performed music to keep the crowds charged up till 12:00pm.
Alleging that the government has politicised the judiciary and administration, Fakhrul said the incumbent government is conspiring to hold elections similar to those in 2014 and 2018 but the people of the country will not accept it anymore.
“Not only the people of the country, but the foreign friends also want a free and fair election in Bangladesh,” he said.
He alleged that several thousands of their party activists have been arrested over the last two days, and urged police and admin officials not to carry out any illegal order from the “illegal regime” and not to stand against the people.
“We know that you people want betterment of the country. So, follow the rule of law and stop arresting and harassing [BNP men],” he said.
Portraying a gloomy picture of the country’s economy, the economics professor-turned-politician, alleged that the ruling party indulged in massive corruption in the name of mega projects.
“Are you tired? You are the youth. You have to fight. The young people have to sacrifice at the crisis moment of the country,” he told the rally, which was joined by a significant number of young men and women.
Apart from BNP, 36 like-minded political parties and alliances held separate rallies in different city areas to press home the one-point demand.
Many leaders and activists of the party alleged that they had to undergo “unreasonable” security checks by law enforcement agencies at the entry points of the capital since Thursday night, which continued till Friday noon.
Delwar Hossain, a BNP supporter, said police searched him and several others at Shonir Akhra on their way to the rally from Narayanganj.
“Police arrested five of our party men who were on a microbus,” he said.
BNP activist Absar Munna travelled all the way from Barishal to attend the rally.
“I came to Dhaka two days ago, fearing obstruction on the way from police and ruling party members,” he told The Daily Star at the rally.
Speaking at the rally, BNP Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas said the government used its law enforcement agencies to arrest their men who had taken shelter at hotels and the houses of their relatives during their stay in Dhaka to join their grand rally.
“What have you achieved by arresting our people? Will you be able to stop our movement?” he asked.
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangadesh/politics/news/bnp-press-dhaka-sit-ins-today-3380996
