BNP rally begins in Faridpur
The senior BNP leaders claimed the police have been harassing their activists by stopping and checking them at various points on the way to the rally venue
The rally of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has begun at Komorpur Abdul Aziz Institution ground, nearly six kilometres away of the Faridpur town.
Faridpur town unit BNP convener ASM Qaiyum has been presiding over the rally that began at around 12:00 pm.
Currently the leaders of local units of BNP and its associate bodies have been addressing the rally. The central leaders of the party will take the stage at around 2:00 pm.
This is the 6th rally of the BNP. Earlier, they oganised rallies in Chattogram, Mymensingh, Barishal, Khulna and Rangpur.
De facto opposition BNP has been organising the rallies protesting at the price of daily essentials, fuel oil and demanding release of the party chairperson Khaleda Zia and a few other party issues.
Earlier, leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated organisations were seen flocking to Komorpur Abdul Aziz Institution ground to join the divisional grand rally.
The rally was scheduled for Saturday noon but an overwhelming number of BNP men reached Faridpur by Friday night.
They were seen gathering at the venue in groups from 6:00 am on Saturday. A total of four police checkpoints were set up a few kilometers away from the entrance of the rally venue.
The leaders and activists of BNP and other affiliated organisations were going to the venue on foot as the police allowed all sorts of vehicles up to the checkpoints.
The checkpoints were set up in the morning at Rajbari intersection on the Dhaka-Khulna highway, Badarpur intersection, Bahirdia bridge area, and Bhanga intersection on the Dhaka-Barishal highway.
Suman Ranjan Sarker and Helal Uddin Bhuiyan, additional superintendents of police in Faridpur, and other senior police personnel were seen at the checkpoints.
No vehicles, except that of media personnel, were being allowed to cross the checkpoints. In a separate case, only the vehicles of BNP men were being stopped at Bhanga intersection, four kilometres away from the rally venue.
The BNP men were going to the venue on foot, though other passenger vehicles were running there without any restrictions.
Unlike the previous incidents, no presence of the ruling party men was found at the city points, in addition to the rally venue.
Those who joined the rally this morning are mainly residents of Faridpur city and adjoining areas. They all were in a festive mood and were equipped with uniform T-shirts and colorful caps.
Rafikuzzaman, former organising secretary of Nagarkanda upazila BNP, said they reached the venue with more than 100 leaders and activists by a pickup van.
There were different sorts of harassment on the way, he alleged, adding that it was not beyond their expectation.
The senior BNP leaders claimed the police have been harassing their activists by stopping and checking them at various points on the way to the rally venue.
AKM Kibria, member secretary of Faridpur BNP, said the government employed the police to harass the BNP men. But these efforts will gear up the rally and the leaders and activists will throng there in a big number.
Additional SP Suman Ranjan Sarker spurned the allegations and said the vehicles were stopped before the rally venue in an effort to make the programme hassle-free.
The initiative was taken so that there are no traffic jams in the adjoining roads, he added.