BNP vows to end misrule, restore democracy

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday took a fresh vow to continue its movement for ‘ousting’ the ‘monstrous’ government to ‘restore’ democracy and people’s rights.

“We’re taking a pledge on this day of our founding anniversary to continue our struggle to remove the monstrous government, and free our leader Khaleda Zia for the restoration of democracy,” said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He hoped that their party’s efforts to end ‘misrule’ will turn out to be a successful one very soon, reports UNB.

The BNP leader came up with the remarks while talking to newsmen after placing wreaths at the BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave along with party’s leaders and activists, marking its 40th founding anniversary.

He alleged that the government has snatched people’s basic rights and destroyed all the democratic institutions. “It’s now the main challenge for the BNP to restore democracy and people’s rights.”

Several hundred BNP leaders and activists together with Fakhrul, party standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, Abdul Moyeen Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury gathered at Zia’s grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital around 10:00am and paid homage to their party founder by placing wreaths.

They also offered a munajat seeking eternal peace for Zia’s departed soul.

Meanwhile, the party and its associate bodies are celebrating its 40th founding anniversary with various programmes.

On 1 September 1978, late president Ziaur Rahman founded the party with a 19-point programme to build a self-reliant Bangladesh.

The party holds a public rally in front of its Naya Paltan central office at 2:00pm.

Party senior leaders said they have a plan for a ‘massive showdown’ in the rally to invigorate its rank and file ahead of the next general elections.

Earlier in the morning, the party flag was hoisted atop the BNP’s Naya Paltan central office and all other offices across the country, marking the day.

Besides, the party’s associate bodies and its all units across the country are marking the day holding various programmes, including discussion meetings.

The party will also organise a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh on Sunday.

The party is celebrating the founding anniversary this year without its chairperson Khaleda Zia as she has been in jail since 8 February after a lower court convicted her in a graft case.

After the assassination of Zia on 30 May 1981 in Chattogram, his widow Khaleda Zia took over the party leadership.

In its 39 years’ journey, BNP had been in power for four times and was in the opposition bench twice. But following the 5 January 2014 election boycott, the party is now out of parliament.

The BNP has been out of power for over 11 years since the 1/11 political changeover.

Senior leaders of the BNP think they are passing through the toughest time since the party’s foundation as it is out of power for a decade, but they hope it will turnaround very soon braving all the odds and obstacles.