LDP calls 48-hour blockade for Wednesday, Thursday

The Liberal Democratic Party, which is waging a movement along with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has announced a 48-hour blockade for Wednesday and Thursday.

LDP chairman Oil Ahmed announced the blockade in a statement on Monday.

Oil Ahmed called people to observe the protest programme in a peaceful manner.

The LDP’s announcement came at a time when a 48-hour shutdown (hartal) enforced by BNP and other opposition parties ends 6:00am on Tuesday.

BNP imposed the shutdown protesting the ‘unilateral’ announcement of the schedule of the 12th parliamentary election.

Along with BNP, other like-minded political alliances and parties, as well as Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami also enforced hartal separately.

This was the second spell of shutdown enforced by the BNP and other opposition parties since 28 October. BNP called a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal a day after the BNP's grand rally in Dhaka was foiled during a clash between BNP activists and the police on 28 October.

Meanwhile, BNP and other parties imposed five spells of nationwide blockade on roadways, railways and waterways for 11 days.

On 15 November, chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal announced the date while unveiling the election schedule during a televised speech in the evening amid the nationwide blockade by the opposition parties.

An hour later, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced a 48-hour nationwide hartal beginning at 6:00am on 19 November, Sunday.

It has been seen in the past that an ally of the BNP announced a programme first, then the other like-minded parties enforced the similar programme.