After distributing leaflets and flowers among people for “boycotting” the January 7 general election, the BNP has now returned to countrywide street protests demanding the resignation of the government.
But unlike in the past, the BNP’s allies will not carry out the protests—bringing out black flag processions—on January 26 and 27 simultaneously.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the party’s decision at a press conference in its Naya Paltan central office Sunday morning.
“We’ll bring out black flag processions in all district sadars (headquarters) on January 26 and in all cities on January 27,” he said.
“We’ll take out processions holding black flags to protest against the unbridled increase in commodity prices, alongside our demand for the release of all political prisoners, including our leaders Begum Khaleda Zia, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Mirza Abbas, and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, and the withdrawal of all false cases and the annulment of the illegal parliament,” Rizvi said.
He slammed the Awami League government for what he said its failure to control the hike in prices of essential commodities.
“The Awami-dummy government, formed through a farce in the name of staged election of seat sharing, has defeated Bangladesh by suppressing the BNP. There is now no one to take care of people,” he alleged.
Stating that a famine-like situation has been prevailing in the country, the BNP leader alleged that the common people are going through serious difficulties amid the extreme rise in commodity prices due to the foul play of the Awami League-led business syndicate.
“People are passing their days in extreme hardship as they are struggling to manage their families. They are unable to manage their families even with loans. From green chillies to gold, the market price of everything has skyrocketed,” he observed.
Besides, Rizvi said the gas crisis has become extreme, putting people in a difficult situation and forcing the owners to shut their factories one after another. “The situation in Chittagong is even worse.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democratic Party, too, Sunday separately announced the two-day program starting January 26.
LDP President Col (Retd) Oli Ahmad said: “This country is not the private property of all of us. Unite and save the country. Facilitate a corruption-free society, ensuring constitutional rights and justice. Our goal is to free the country from dictatorship.”
Rizvi said that 27,507 leaders and activists of the party have been in jail after being arrested centering the BNP’s “grand” rally held in late July last year.
Since July 28, a total of 1,182 cases have been filed against 105,467 BNP men. “At least 9,709 BNP leaders and activists have been injured over the period. Of them, 30 died later."
Nine BNP leaders and activists have been sentenced to death, while 1,294 have received different jail terms since late July, he added.
Ganatantra Mancha, an alliance of six political parties supporting the BNP's anti-government movement, did not announce any program for the two days.
Saiful Huq, a key leader of the platform, told Bangla Tribune Sunday afternoon that they have already announced rallies and processions for January 30.
In another development, one of the six parties, Nagorik Oikya, on Sunday carried out a mass signature campaign in front of the Jatiya Press Club.
The party’s convener, Mahmudur Rahman Mannan, also another top leader of the alliance demanding reelection, said the campaign will continue at least till tomorrow.
As mentioned, the BNP and its allies carried out simultaneous programs on January 9 and 15.
