BNP to take up 15-day programme this week

BNP is now coming up with a 15-day cluster programme to take ahead its one-point programme to remove the government. This cluster programme will include various types of rallies and several road marches. The programme will kick off on Tuesday and continue on until 3 October.

The national election schedule will be announced in the first week of November, the election commission has been indicating. BNP wants to take its movement to the finale in October before the announcement of the election schedule. It is with this in mind that the party is to launch its movement this week. When this movement ends, the party may take up another stretch of the movement in the first week of October.

According to BNP sources, the programme will start off with a large rally in Keraniganj, Dhaka. In between, four road marches will also be held in the south and eastern regions of the country.

The programme is to be announced at a press conference tomorrow, Monday.

Sources say that this time BNP plans to hold a large rally on the outskirts of Dhaka in Keraniganj and one in Narayanganj, as well as three large rallies within Dhaka city. There will be a rally for professionals, a women’s rally and a workers’ rally in Dhaka. A decision has also been taken to hold road marches in Sylhet, Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram. Roads marches were basically to be held by BNP’s front organisations Jubo Dal, Swechchhashebok Dal and Chhatra Dal. They had planned on a ‘youth march’ in the north, south and eastern regions of the country. They have now shortened their programmes to two road marches in the north.

On the first day of the road marches yesterday, Saturday, Jubo Sal, Swechchhashebok Dal and Chhatra Dal marched an 80 km stretch from Rangpur to Dinajpur. Starting at Rangpur in the afternoon, the march went through Syedpur and ended in Dinajpur in the evening. On the second day today, Sunday, the road march will go from Bogura to Rajshahi.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury will be special guests at this road march. The three organisations have arranged these road marches to bring the youth, who have been deprived of their voting rights, to the streets in a move to remove the government.

Sources in BNP say that the party will now take up the road marches planned by Jubo Dal, Swechchhahebok Dal and Chhatra Dal along with these three organisations as well as like-minded parties, in a simultaneous movement. The first road march may be on the Sylhet route. The march will start from Bhairab Bazar and go through Brahmanbaria, Habiganj and Maulvibazar, on up till Sylhet. Another roach march will head to Khulna. This will start at Jhenidah, through Jashore and Naoapara, up till Khulna town. The next road march will be in the Barishal, Patuakhali and Pirojpur region. The final road march will be towards Chattogram. Starting from Cumilla, it will go through Feni and Mirsharai up till Chattogram city.

Speaking at the road march in Rangpur, Saturday, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had also indicated the plans about these forthcoming progammes. He said, “This road march has begun today in Rangpur. These road marches will end the day we manage to topple this government. We will not return home until the fall of this government.”

At the end of the road march in Dinajpur, Mirza Fakhrul said, “Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal and Swechhchashebok Dal have taken to the streets. BNP will come out too in a day or two. We will spread the message everywhere that there is only one demand now – Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.”

BNP policymakers, according to sources, have planned to hold rallies and road gatherings in between the road marches. They want to use these programmes to take their one-point movement to the final stages. The road marches and rallies in this phase will go on up till 3 September. After that a fresh series of Dhaka-centred programmes will be announced. This will continue through October. Basically this programme will b stretched on until the 12th parliamentary election schedule is announced.

Earlier, Jubo Dal, Swechchhashebok Dal and Chhatra Dal held youth rallies throughout the country. At the youth rally held on 22 July in Suhrawardy Udyan, Dhaka, BNP announced its grand rally for 28 August in Dhaka. This time too, after the four rallies in Dhaka and Narayanganj and the road marches, an announcement is likely to be made regarding a large Dhaka-centred programme.

BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury told Prothom Alo, “The government has become distressed after losing support inside and outside the country. It is lashing out at BNP. We are on the streets. We will take up programmes to take the ongoing movement to a successful conclusion.”

After taking the one-point movement from 12 July aimed at removing the government, BNP and other opposition parties and alliances have held grand rallies in Dhaka, sit-in programmes at Dhaka’s entry points, and several road marches. Concerned persons say BNP wants the stretch of programmes over the next 15 days to be peaceful. By gathering huge crowds at the programmes, the message will be for the government to peacefully resign and hand over power to a non-partisan government. After that if the government does not arrive at a peaceful solution, stern programmes will be taken up.