BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday described their march demanding the resignation of the government as a journey to ‘victory’ and urged the Awami League to quit as people do not want to see them in power anymore.

He alleged that the Election Commission staged a farce in the name of by-polls to Dhaka-17 on Monday.

“It’s not just a march as it’s a journey to victory. It’s also a journey to victory for realising people’s rights,” the BNP leader said while inaugurating their party’s road march in the capital’s Gabtoli area.

Also read: Not a victory march, it’s a defeat march: Quader on BNP’s program 

He said they along with 36 other opposition parties have started a fresh journey for the restoration of democracy through the march programme. “We’ll achieve the victory by realising our one-point demand.  We’ll defeat this terrible monstrous regime and form a government and parliament of people.”

Fakhrul said the people of entire Bangladesh have woken up to get back their lost rights and get rid of the misrule of the Awami League government.

He urged the government to step down and dissolve parliament by handing over power to a neutral government. 

Also read: BNP’s march: 50 hurt in clash with police in Bogura

"Not only BNP but also 36 other political parties simultaneously announced on July 12 that the current regime must resign immediately. The people of this country no longer want to see Awami League in power," the BNP Secretary General said.

He called upon all the democratic political parties, organisations and professional bodies to take to the streets to protect the country and its people by ousting the Awami League regime.

About the by-polls to Dhaka-17, he said the ruling party could not take voters to the polling stations by even installing a heavy-weight candidate and its main think-tank Mohammad Ali Arafat against Hero Alam.

Also read: 50 injured in AL, BNP, police clash in Feni

“The polling stations were empty. The crippled, worthless and subservient Election Commission showed 11% voter turnout. We saw that there were no voters anywhere…after the announcement of the results, Arafat showed the victory sign. It’s a matter of shame. Hero Alam, a non-political personality, was beaten and driven out of the polling station,” Fakhrul said.

He criticised the silent role of police while a candidate was attacked by the ruling party activists in front of a polling station.

“The Election Commission says the election with 11 percent voter turnout was the best one. There is no point in making such mockery to deceive people,” the BNP leader said.

Also read: BNP’s march: 50 hurt in clash with police in Bogura

When the people in the capital have been facing a difficult time due to a serious outbreak of dengue, he said the Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor went to Europe for a vacation. “The Health Minister went to America.  What a sense of responsibility they have!"

The BNP leader said the current Awami League government is a regime of ‘dishonest' businessmen.

He said it is a matter of shame that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had a five-hour-long meeting with those who raise the prices of goods, electricity, loot thousands of crores of taka and build houses in Singapore, Canada, America and England.

“We express our hatred towards this regime as sent democracy to the grave and destroyed the electoral system…we would like to clearly say no election will be held under Hasina led illegitimate government,” Fakhrul said.

Also read: Police-BNP activists clash in Kishoreganj; several activists, journalists injured

As part of their one-point movement, thousands of leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies joined the march towards Bahadur Shah Park in the old part of Dhaka from Gabtali Bus Station.

The march reached Bahadur Shah Park walking a long stretch of around 16km road from Gabtoli around 5:45pm and it was concluded after a brief rally there.

Addressing the rally, BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas thanked the party leaders and workers for making the programme a success with the participation of an unprecedented number of people in the march.

Also read: Over 100 injured in AL-BNP clashes in Khagrachhari

He claimed that no party in the world could stage such a massive political march to realise their rights.

“We will unitedly restore the rights of the people of the country. Those who could bring out such a huge procession would surely be able to ensure the fall of this regime.

He said their party’s peaceful march programme was attacked in different parts of the country. “Our party leaders and activists resisted the attacks in most places.  We were also attacked in front of Bangla College in Dhaka. Our party men gave such a mass beating that the attackers ran away. Those who will try to obstruct our peaceful rallies must face the same fate.”

Earlier, Fakhrul formally inaugurated the programme around 11:20am. When the march reached Mirpur's Govt Bangla College around 11:45 am, some youths attacked them, resulting in a clash, witnesses said.

Also read: BNP’s Dhaka march comes under attack near Mirpur Bangla college

Later, brickbats were thrown targeting each other. A motorcycle and a bicycle were also burned during the clash. Later, police brought the situation under control.

A similar programme was observed in all other metropolitan cities and district towns amid the obstruction and clashes with police and the ruling party leaders and activists in different districts, including in Kishoreganj, Bogura, Rangamati, Feni, Laxmipur and Pirojpur.

 This was the first programme of the opposition’s one-point movement with the goal to remove Awami League from power to hold the upcoming national elections under a neutral government

Alongside the BNP, Ganatantra Mancha, 12-party alliance, Jatiyatabadi Samomona Jote, the Liberal Democratic Party, Gonoforum and People’s Party, Labour Party, Gono Odhikar Parishad Gonotantrik Bam Oikya, Samomona Gonotantrik Peshajibi Jote and Sadaran Chhatra Odhikar Sanrakshan Parishad marched in the city’s different areas.

BNP will also march on July 19 (Wednesday) from Uttara’s Abdullahpur to Jatrabari from 10am to 4pm. The other opposition parties and alliances will also observe the programme in the capital on the same day.