"The government gets scared when it hears BNP’s name. They know there’s no ground under their feet and the nationalist forces can overthrow them at any moment through a mass upsurge,” she said.

Speaking at a milad mahfil, the BNP leader also alleged that the government is now running a ‘steamroller’ all over the country to eliminate BNP by arresting its leaders and activists in ‘false’ cases.

Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal arranged the programme on the ground floor of BNP’s Nayapaltan central office seeking speedy recovery of party chief Khaleda Zia, its standing committee member Mirza Abbas and his wife Afroza Abbas.

On November 12, a total of 11 buses were torched at different parts of Dhaka. Police filed 16 cases accusing several hundred BNP leaders and activists on charges of torching the vehicles.

Selima, a BNP standing committee member, said their party did not have any programme at Nayapaltan on November 12, but Jubo Dal leaders and activists gathered in front of their party office on that day to bring out a procession while BNP had a press briefing on that day’s by-polls to Dhaka-18 and Sirajganj 1.

“Though we didn’t have any scheduled programme, a water cannon vehicle was kept there and our office was encircled by the police who later filed false cases against the leaders and activists of our party, Swechchasebak Dal and Jubo Dal. They’re now harassing our leaders and activists by implicating them in the cases,” she said.

The BNP leader said their party men who were staying outside Dhaka on November 12 were also made accused in the vehicle torching cases. “Even, corona patients have also been implicated in the cases. Ishraque Hossain, who had long been in isolation due to his illness has been made the number-one accused in one case and the number-three accused in another. This’s the condition of the present government.”

Selima called upon the people of all walks of life and all political parties to be united to get rid of the current government's 'misrule'.

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