BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday categorically said that their party’s rally in Dhaka will be held at Nayapaltan on December 10 from where they will declare a one-point movement to oust the Awami League government.

“The ruling party leaders say the rally won’t be allowed on December 10. Is it one’s father’s country?  The rally will be held on December 10 in this place (Nayapaltan). It’s announced by the people,” he told a protest rally.

As BNP respects the law, Fakhrul said they submitted an application to the authorities concerned seeking permission for holding the rally in a peaceful manner in protest against the price hikes of daily essentials, killing of opposition activists and demanding Khaleda Zia’s unconditional release.

BNP’s Dhaka south and north city units arranged the programme in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office, in protest against the killing of Bancharampur Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Nayon Miah in police firing.

Fakhrul said their party still did not come up with the main announcement, which will be delivered on December 10. 

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"A one-point-movement for the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina government will begin on that day. You (AL) must go and there is no compromise here. So, quit power peacefully,” he said.

The BNP leader said the government could not stop BNP’s seven divisional rallies despite using everything at their disposal to erect various obstacles, as “the people have now woken up”.

He alleged that the government has been recycling the old game of filing false cases against opposition leaders and activists to subdue them.

Stating that cases were filed against 35 lakh opposition leaders and workers, the BNP leader said the government could not suppress them by implicating them in the cases. “The more you’ll file cases, the more we’ll be stronger and people will come up with resistance."

Fakhrul said their party will not let go in vain the blood of seven slain leaders and activists of their party and its associate bodies. “We’ll surely defeat this regime with people’s strength."

Govt in ‘brute’ mode

Referring to the killing of Bancharampur’s Sonarampur Union Parishad unit JCD leader Nayon Miah in police firing, he said the government has claimed the lives of seven youths in the current movement for the restoration of democracy and voting rights of people.

“They (AL) have been playing the most brutal role in the history of the country,” the BNP leader observed.

Slamming Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader for his comment that the Bancharampur incident was ‘arranged’ or somehow not genuine, Fakhrul said, “How inhuman and cruel can they become that they can’t even express a little sorrow?”

He said it is Awami League which has been staying in power by force through stage-managed polls. “You don’t have legitimacy. If the constitution of Bangladesh is true, you are not genuine (regime) as you’re not elected one. You stuffed ballot boxes at night what now the foreigners are also saying.”

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‘Don’t oppose the people’

The BNP leader warned the administration and law enforcement agencies that they will also be held responsible for the inhuman and unlawful rule that the ruling party has been carrying out by firing off their shoulders.

He said the US-imposed sanctions on RAB for violating human rights though they killed people and made people disappear at the behest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “The same way police shot dead our leaders and activists following Sheikh Hasina’s order."

“We don’t want any more sanctions as it’s a matter of shame for us… we don’t want any more our force to face the sanctions. So, we would like to clearly ask them (police) don’t make people your opponents and don’t undermine them since they are owners of the country, not Sheikh Hasina and Awami League,” the BNP leader said.

Read more: Power tariff hike to deepen public suffering further: BNP

AL ‘crossed all limits’

 “Awami League has crossed all the limits. They have taken the people of this country hostage with their corruption, arrogance and vanity. Their remarks manifest that they are the owners and we the people are their servants and subjects,” Fakhrul said in his speech, echoing a sentiment that resonated with his friendly audience.

He then reiterated that the freedom fighters did not liberate the country to keep a person, a party or a quarter in power illegally.

“This government is playing with our lives and with our country. They’re killing our sons. There should be united protests against injustice and we must burst into anger. This regime will not go away easily, we have to force them to quit,” he railed.