BNP’s 48-hr hartal starts today

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is observing a 48-hour hartal (strike) from 6:00 am Saturday to 6:00 am Monday. The voting to the 12th general elections will be held tomorrow, 7 January amid the hartal.

BNP senior secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi declared the programme in a virtual press conference Thursday afternoon.

The BNP called for hartal for the first time in a long time on 29 October after their grand rally on 28 October was thwarted. They have enforced hartal several times in phases since then.

As part of their anti-government movement, the party has also held blockades across the country several times in phases.

The BNP is organising these programmes to press their demand of resignation of the government and release of their imprisoned leaders and activists. Several parties in BNP’s simultaneous movement are also holding blockades and hartals separately.

These parties, along with the BNP, are running campaigns urging people to boycott the elections.