BNP ‘youth rally’ to expedite one-point movement

After organising five youth rallies in large cities, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) three front organisations of youths –Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), Jubo Dal and Swechchhasebok Dal – will organise their last youth rally in Dhaka’s Suhrawardy Udyan today, Saturday.

Party sources said BNP will announce from the rally that it will not leave the streets. At the same time, it will call upon the youths to move ahead to change the ongoing “chaotic” situation in the country.

Following the youth rallies, the de facto opposition will employ its full might to press home its one-point demand of resignation of the government to clear way for the formation of caretaker government to oversee the next parliamentary election, according to the party sources.

Three organisations of BNP have been organising the youth rallies under the slogan “We the youths want to cast vote, let there be war for this right”. Top leadership of the party took the initiative of organising six youth rallies across the country to check how much support it would garner from the youths in decisive movements. Five of the rallies have already held.

The sixth rally will be held at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka from 2:00 pm. Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will attend the rally as the chief guest.

BNP sources said one of the objectives of the rallies was to organise the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal and Swechchhasebok Dal – three of the most powerful organisations of BNP.

After speaking with multiple leaders of the allied parties, it was learnt that although the aim wasn’t achieved through the five rallies, the BNP top brass is happy with the efforts of the leaders from the three allied parties. Now everyone’s attention is on the youth rally in Dhaka. To make the rally a success, leaders, activists and followers from all districts, metropolitans and educational institutes will take part. Along with Chhatra Dal, Juba dal and Swechasebak Dal, activists from other associated organisations will also take part.

Since BNP announced the one-point movement to oust the government on 12 July, this will be the second large-scale rally in the capital organised by the three affiliated organisations. In the rally, youth who were denied jobs, the family members of leaders and activists who are victims of ‘enforced disappearance’ or are ‘missing’, youths who haven’t been able to cast their votes since becoming eligible to vote and some employees who lost their jobs in the Awami League term for political reasons will give speeches.

Meanwhile, leaders of the three affiliated organisations went to the Suhrawardy Udyan on Friday afternoon to visit the site of the rally. The stage was being built since afternoon. Earlier in the morning, leaders of Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal and Swechsebak Dal held a press conference at the BNP office in Naya Paltan.

Jubo Dal president Sultan Salahuddin said, Dhaka will transform into a city of youth because of the youth rally. He said, around 47 million voters haven’t been able to cast their votes because of the current government. They are now taking to the streets to uphold their rights. They are also protesting for the deserving candidates who didn’t get jobs just because they don’t support Awami League. In the rally, the youths who have been denied the right to vote and have been deprived will take part, he said.

Jubo Dal acting general secretary Shafiqul Islam, Swechasebak Dal’s president SM Jilani, general secretary Rajib Ahsan, Chhatra Dal president Kazi Rawnakul Islam, general secretary Saif Mahmud and many more were present in the press conference.

The youth rally was first held in Chattogram in last June. After that, similar rallies were held in Bogura, Barisal, Sylhet and Khulna. Chhatra Dal’s general secretary Saif told Prothom Alo, “We have awakened the youth with the youth rallies. I’m hoping that the biggest rally in recent memory will happen in Dhaka”