BNP to take up programmes in context of ‘visa policy’

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will take up its strategy and programmes in the new phase of its movement taking into account the new visa policy announced by the US as the party thinks it has created a new political context in the country.

BNP leadership said the ruling Awami League sticks to its plans to hold the next general election remaining in power. BNP’s main target ahead of rolling out its new phase of anti-government movement is to foil that plan of the ruling party.  

BNP’s standing committee, the highest decision making body of the party, would discuss the next course of action. The standing committee is likely to hold its meeting today. Before the meeting, the members of the committee have been asked to ponder over the possible strategy and programmes of the new phase of movement. It has been learnt that they would present their own plans in today’s meeting.

BNP sources said the party would endeavour to engage youth more in this phase of the movement. It has planned to hold youth rallies in Dhaka and some other divisional cities. BNP’s student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and two affiliated organisations Jubo Dal and Swecchasebak Dal would organise the rallies. These three organisations have already held a joint meeting on the matter.

Seeking anonymity, a top leader of JCD told Prothom Alo, “We feel an obligation to do something for the youth who became voters after 2008 but could not exercise their franchise in the 2014 and 2018 elections. We are thinking of organizing rallies of youth to motivate them.”

BNP has held marches and rallies in 82 organisational districts including Dhaka to press home its 10-point demand since 13 May. The new phase of the programmes is likely to start at the beginning of June.

Although the venues and possible dates of the youth rallies are yet to be finalised, the JCD leader said they want to hold at least one rally towards the beginning of June.

BNP wants the youth who were deprived of their voting rights at the forefront of this phase of movement. BNP policymakers want to create a vibe replicating the intransigence shown by the activists centering the divisional rallies in November-December. The BNP leadership planned to hold youth rallies keeping this target in mind.

Syed Emran Saleh, organising secretary (Mymensingh) of BNP, told Prothom Alo, “Our programmes this time would be well planned. Programmes would be organised considering the possible outcomes. There would be some exceptional programmes too. We are setting our strategy taking into consideration the government's highhandedness, as well as the local and international context.”

BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s 42nd death anniversary would be observed tomorrow, 30 May. The party has chalked out different programmes marking the day from 29 May to 8 June.

Sources from the party said the new programmes would be announced upon discussion with political allies that are part of ongoing simultaneous movement amid the ongoing set of programmes marking Ziaur Rahman’s death anniversary. BNP is eyeing to coalesce its 10-point into a single one-point demand of the government’s resignation soon. This issue was discussed at the last meeting of the standing committee.

Standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy told Prothom Alo, “The government has already started pushing towards the election. It would try to keep itself safe by conducting an election themselves. But we would not take part in any election held under this government. So we will have to realise our demand for neutral polls by defying the government’s push for the election.”

BNP policymakers think the new phase of movement would take the anti-government to a new high. They contend that the vibe that ensued centering BNP’s Dhaka divisional rally on 10 December last year would be recreated centering its new phase of movement in the context of the new visa policy announced by the US.

BNP’s standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said Bangladesh has been slapped with visa restrictions for the first time. The world thinks there is no democracy in Bangladesh. People are waging a movement to get back democracy, voting rights, human rights and rule of law.

This movement has now become global, he added.