BNP not allowed to erect stage for rally in Aminbazar

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) held a peaceful rally in Old Dhaka on Monday pressing forward its ‘one-point demand’ for the ouster of the government and the release of Khaleda Zia. The party, however, was not allowed to set up a stage for its rally on another side of the capital in Aminbazar on the same day. BNP said they would hold the rally on Thursday.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir addressed the party’s rally in Old Dhaka’s Dholaikhla as chief guest. He said Awami League is taking all-out preparation again to hold an election in 2024 like they did in 2014 and 2018. When all political parties of the country, as well as various other countries, are speaking for a free, fair and inclusive election, at that time Awami League is covering up the matter. None believes that the election will be fair under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.

The BNP has been in a 15-day programme demanding the ouster of the government. As part of the party agenda, BNP organised rallies in Old Dhaka’s Dholaikhal and near the Chistia Filing Station in Aminbazar on Monday afternoon, but the party was denied permission for the Aminbazar rally. BNP’s Dhaka district unit general secretary Nipun Roy Chowdhury alleged a team of police led by Savar police station officer-in-charge (OC) demolished the rally stage around 1:30am on Monday. So they postponed the rally. However, the postponement of the rally drew mixed reactions inside the party.

Visiting Aminbazar’s Chistia Filing Station area on Monday afternoon, this correspondent found several pieces of bamboo piled up at a place filled with sand. Five police vehicles were standing there. More than 100 members of the police were also seen deployed on the filing station premises, office rooms, nearby roads and open spaces.

Locals said several activists of BNP carrying bamboos, wood and other implements came to this place after 12:00am on Monday to build a stage, but members of police who were deployed in advance barred the BNP activists from setting the stage. The party activists then left the places abandoning the bamboo. Now, BNP’s Dhaka district unit decided to hold the rally again in Aminbazar on Thursday.

Savar police station OC Dipak Chandra Shaha denied the allegation of demolishing the stage. He told Prothom Alo neither any member of the police nor did he demolish the stage, and there was no stage at all. He knows nothing about preventing BNP activists from building a stage either.

At the rally in Dholaikhal, Mirza Fakhrul said “The visa policy of the US has caused them a headache.” He also read several headlines from a newspaper highlighting the application of US visa policy, as well as concerns in the field administration and talks at the secretariat.

Citing the report, Mirza Fakhrul said, “The ruling party and the administrative officials stole and looted on such a large scale, as a result, not only Awami League men, but several within the administration have now started to loot sand. Sand worth Tk 6 billion has been looted in Chandpur, and that is not my words, these are the words of the river commission chairman.” The BNP secretary general claimed billions of taka amassed through looting have been laundered to foreign countries.

Alleging that the ruling Awami League government has again been approaching a one-party rule of 1975, Mirza Fakhrul said 22 leaders and activists of BNP were killed over the past year, 700 party men have victims of enforced disappearance, 4.5 million leaders and activists face false lawsuits and quick trials across the country.

And the sole motive is to keep away the pro-democracy people from movement through enforced disappearance and killings, the BNP secretary general added.

Mirza Fakhrul commented Awami League is taking all-out preparation to conduct another election in 2024. “Various countries, as well as all parties of Bangladesh have been saying repeatedly that ‘You (the government) rigged two previous elections and stole those.’ If the election does not become free, fair and inclusive, then people will surely not accept it, and the world will not accept it either. And Awami League is lying repeatedly to cover up the matter.”

Mirza Fakhrul further added said Awami League has said inside and outside the country, as well as in the United Nations that they would hold a free, fair and impartial election under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. Does anyone believe this? Nobody believes the election will be fair under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina because we have seen in the past.

Mirza Fakhrul told the prime minister, “Resign immediately. Don’t dilly-dally. People of this country no longer want to see you in power.”

Saying that the nation has reached the extreme transition point today, the BNP leader added, “Now our sole goal is, if they don’t listen to us, we will settle it on streets. Let us go ahead with this goal.”

Presided over by BNP’s Dhaka city north unit convener Abdus Salam, standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's special assistant Shamsur Rahman (Shimul Biswas), publicity secretary Shaheed Uddin Chowdhury, foreign affairs committee member Ishraq Hossain, Jubo Dal president Sultan Salahuddin, Swechhashebok Dal president SM Jilani, Krishak Dal general secretary Shahidul Islam, Mahila Dal general secretary Sultana Ahmed, Chhatra Dal acting president Rashed Iqbal, among other, spoke at the event.

BNP’s Dhaka south unit acting member secretary Liton Mahmud moderated the rally.