BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam on Saturday said the government’s “threats” will not work anymore, as people will not return home until their victory is ensured in the movement for the restoration of their voting rights.

Speaking at the party’s divisional rally in Sylhet, he also said the next election must be held under a non-partisan caretaker government and warned that those who oppose this election system will turn into “public enemies”.

“The prime minister has issued a threat that we’ll face the fate of Hefajat if we try to wage a movement. We would like to say that people have woken up this time. So, these threats won’t work this time. People who have taken to the streets, won’t return home without realising their demands,” Fakhrul said.

The BNP leader said their party’s main goal is to restore people’s rights that “have been lost, including the right to vote.” “We’ll establish a government of people through people’s votes…our movement can’t be stopped by opening fire and gunning down our leaders and activists.”

Referring to the ruling party leaders’ remarks that the election will be held as per the constitution, he said their party (BNP) does not accept the charter that was amended by the current government.

Referring to the events of 2011 leading up to the 15th amendment to the constitution, Fakhrul said that the government had annulled the caretaker government system using the judiciary, creating a scope for holding elections under a partisan government.

Fakhrul said the caretaker government that was included in the constitution by Khaleda Zia, must be restored to ensure a credible national election. “No election will be held in Bangladesh without the caretaker government.”

He said the restoration of the caretaker government system is the only way to resolve the country’s political crisis.

As part of the party’s planned divisional rally, Sylhet city unit BNP organised the programme in the Government Alia Madrasa field.

Tens of thousands of leaders and followers of BNP and its associate bodies from four districts--Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Habiganj and Sylhet--under the division joined the rally, overcoming various obstacles and the bus strikes that began on Friday morning.

Fakhrul said the government will not be able to manipulate the election at night again by using police and government agencies or by using the EVMs. “People will this time take proper account of their votes.”

Stating that they want peace in the country, he urged the government to quit immediately, dissolve parliament and hand over power to a caretaker government.

The BNP leader urged the country’s people to get united to force the government to accept the demand through a fierce democratic government.

Accusing the government of coming to power by resorting to 'robbery' and snatching people’s voting and other democratic rights, he said one day Sheikh Hasina will be tried in people’s court for it. “People will not forgive this regime for depriving them of their rights and destroying the spirit of the Liberation War.”

Describing the rally as a historic one, the BNP leader saluted the people of Sylhet and said they sent out a message through the successful programme for waging war for the restoration of democracy and voting rights. “This war has begun from Sylhet’s sacred land and we’ll surely win this battle.”

Fakhrul people joined the rally braving all obstacles and made it a great success.

He said people are going through serious suffering due to the unusual rise in prices of daily essentials. “Hasina has created an awful situation in the country. This regime has turned Bangladesh into a bottomless basket again through its repressive acts and misrule over the last 14 years.”

He said the government has started playing a game afresh by implicating opposition leaders in false cases and arresting them. “This has to stop. If anymore false cases are filed, people will come up with resistance.”BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said the government has tried to obstruct and foil all the rallies of their party but people gave it a befitting reply by defying all barriers.

He alleged that the government used all its strengths and spent huge money to stop BNP’s programmes, but all its efforts went in vain due to people’s united resistance.

Another party standing committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan said people of the entire country have now been subjected to repressive acts and suppression. “We would like to say no more repression will be tolerated. We’ll restore democracy through a credible election under the non-party neutral government.”

Dr Moyeen thanked the people of Sylhet for making the rally a success with their spontaneous and huge participation.

As in the previous rallies, the mobile operators shut the 3G and 4G data services in Sylhet city, disrupting the internet services from 10am.

An adequate number of police and other security officials have been deployed around the rally venue and at different points of the town to prevent any untoward incident.

Law enforcers set up 19 check-posts in Sylhet to avoid any kind of chaos and untoward incident centring BNP’s divisional rally, scheduled to begin today.

Though bus communication remained halted between Sylhet and other parts of the country since Friday morning, BNP followers from all the districts under the division were seen coming to the rally venue by train, trucks, launches and boats and small vehicles like human haulers, auto rickshaws, three-wheelers, motorbikes, and micro-buses from Thursday.

The rally in Sylhet was the 7th by BNP at the divisional level following Chattogram, Mymensingh, Khulna, Rangpur, Barishal and Faridpur.

As part of the move to continue the pace of its ongoing movement, BNP on September 27 announced a series of public rallies in 10 divisional cities. The BNP will conclude the divisional rallies through a mass gathering in Dhaka city on December 10.