BNP announces hartal for Sunday and Monday

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has announced hartal across the country on Sunday and Monday protesting the election schedule and demanding the resignation of the government.

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the announcement at a virtual press briefing on Thursday.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said, “I am declaring the hartal protesting against the one-sided schedule announced by the election commission, demanding the resignation of the government and establishing a neutral caretaker government.”

The hartal across the country including Dhaka will start at 6:00am on Sunday and continue till 6:00am on Tuesday.

Amid the political differences over the election-time government, the election commission declared yesterday, Wednesday, the election schedule for the 12th parliamentary election for 7 January.

BNP, like-minded parties and the Left Democratic Alliance have rejected the election schedule. Left Democratic Alliance enforced a half-day hartal today, Thursday protesting against the declaration of the election schedule.

The Ganatantra Mancha has enforced a day-long hartal. The party has also been launching a movement with the BNP seeking one-point demand for the ouster of the government. Simultaneously, the BNP has enforced the fifth spell of blockade across the country.

BNP enforced a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on 29 October the day after its grand rally was foiled in Dhaka on 28 October amid violence.

After that, the party imposed a fifth spell of blockade on road, rail and waterways from 31 October to 16 November protesting the arrest of secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and demanding the resignation of the government.