BNP defers rally further seeking permission

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday sought fresh permission from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) authorities to hold its planned public rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in the city on Sunday, reports UNB.
A BNP delegation, led by its publicity affairs secretary Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee met the DMP authorities around noon and submitted a letter seeking permission for holding the rally on Sunday.
Anee told UNB that acting DMP commissioner Shahabuddin Qureshi requested them to change the schedule of their rally and submit a fresh application for the permission.
"Later, we submitted an application seeking permission for holding the rally on Sunday," he added.
Anee said the DMP acting commissioner said they will inform them about their decision in this regard on Friday.
"We'll hold the rally either on Saturday or Sunday subjected to permission from the DMP authorities," the BNP leader said.
Earlier in the day, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi at press conference at the party's Naya Paltan central office said they are waiting for permission from the DMP authorities as the public works department gave them clearance for holding the rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on Saturday.
"We sent letters to both police and the public works authorities. The public works department replied to our letter saying it has no objection to the rally subjected to police clearance. We're now waiting for police permission," he said.
The BNP leader hoped that the DMP authorities will surely allow them to hold the programme.
He said their rally will be peaceful, and they have taken necessary preparations to make it a success.
He sought cooperation from the police in holding the rally successfully.
Rizvi said they earlier shifted their rally to Saturday from Thursday at the request of the DMP authorities.
On Wednesday, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they will unveil their party's future course of action and strategy at the Suhrawardy Udyan public rally.
BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed at a discussion on Thursday hinted that their party will announce fresh action programme from the rally.