BNP central leaders, led by party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, went to the Central Shaheed Minar in the morning am and placed a wreath at its alter.

Earlier, several hundred BNP leaders and activists gathered in front of Balaka Cinema  Hall  wearing black badges and went to Azimpur graveyard.

They offered fathea and a munajat at the graves of language martyrs there, seeking the salvation of the departed souls.

Also read: Amar Ekushey: Nation paying tributes to language heroes

Talking to reporters after paying homage to the martyrs at the centrality Shaheed Minar, Rizvi said the country is now being run by "mafia as the government has established a one-party system of governance in the country. We’re fighting against it being imbued with the spirit of February 21, 1952.”

He said there was the pain of losing rights behind every movement and struggle in Bangladesh, including the Language Movement. “This movements inspire and make us brave to continue our struggle for restoring our rights and democracy.”

The BNP leader bemoaned that their party chairperson Khaleda has been kept in jail ‘unfairly’ for three years by the government to ‘hang onto’ power by ‘destroying’ democracy.

Also read: Nation pays tributes to Language Movement martyrs

BNP chairperson’s adviser Amanullah Aman said the government has ‘ruined’ democracy and the spirit of the Liberation War and Amar Ekushey.

"We’ve taken a strong vow on this day to bring back democracy by overthrowing the current unelected, illegitimate and dictatorial regime,” he added.

Stating that the current government has no legitimacy, Aman urged it to arrange a credible national election under a neutral government by immediately quitting power.

Also read: Language Martyrs Day on Friday

He also paid homage to the martyrs of February 21, 1952 who sacrificed their lives for their mother tongue, Bangla, which ultimately encouraged the nation to liberate the country through waging the Liberation War in 1971.