BNP on Wednesday night decided to defer its grand rally, scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday), to Friday. The party said it will hold the grand rally in Dhaka’s Nayapaltan area as it is unwilling to hold the programme at Golapbagh ground as suggested by the police authorities.
After a marathon meeting of the BNP standing committee members, party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir came up with the announcement at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office.
He said the rally will be held in front of their party’s Nayapaltan central office at 2 pm on Friday as it is a weekly holiday.
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“BNP, which strongly believes in democratic values, is announcing to hold the pre-scheduled grand rally in Nayapaltan at 2 pm on weekly holiday, Friday (July 28), instead of Thursday, in order to take the ongoing movement for the restoration of democracy forward in a peaceful manner,” Fakhrul said.
He hoped that the government or any of its institutions would not create any barrier to holding the grand rally.
He said the countrymen will consider any attempt to obstruct democratic programmes ahead of the forthcoming election as an “obstruction to the holding of a fair election.”
BNP also called upon people from all walks of life to make the grand rally a success.
He said there are instances of numerous rallies at Suhrawardy Udyan and Nayapaltan on workdays, but the police authorities objected to BNP’s rally on Thursday there showing the excuses of public suffering and an observation of the High Court.
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As BNP always believes in “peaceful democratic movement,” Fakhrul said it has been showing unlimited patience and tolerance even after various provocations by the government and the ruling party cadres and even after the “killing of 20 leaders and activists and the torture on many leaders and activists of the party over the last one year.”
He alleged that the government has arrested many leaders and activists of BNP across the country centring the grand rally.
Besides, the BNP leader said the law enforcers are raiding hotels in the capital and searching houses of the party leaders and workers in different parts of the country.
Following BNP’s move, Awami League's three associate organisations—Chhatra League, Jubo League and Swechchasebak League—also announced to hold their rally at the old trade fair ground in Dhaka’s Agargaon on Friday, instead of Thursday.
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Earlier in the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Khandaker Golam Faruk said police did not allow BNP to hold their rally at Nayapaltan or Suhrawardy Udyan. “We have suggested they go for Golapbagh ground or any other field as Thursday is a workday.”
The DMP also suggested three fronts of the ruling Awami League—Jubo League, Swechchasebak League and Chhatra League—hold their scheduled rally either at Dhaka University or at Mohanagar Natya Mancha instead of the south gate of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.
Following DMP’s decision, BNP standing committee members sat in a meeting at 4 pm at their Nayapaltan central office to discuss the evolving situation over the rally venue.
Fakhrul was supposed to inform the media about their party's decision on the rally venue after the meeting. But Fakhrul, together with other standing committee members, left Nayapaltan for Gulshan around 5:30 pm without talking to the media. They again sat in a meeting there.
After that meeting, Fakhrul said they rescheduled the grand rally for Friday.
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A large number of law enforcers have been deployed with riot cars and water cannons in the Nayapaltan area since Wednesday afternoon.
On Monday, BNP sent a letter to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) expressing its interest to hold a rally at Nayapaltan or Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka.
Last Saturday, Fakhrul announced the grand rally on Thursday to press home their one-point demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to “pave the way for holding the next national election under a neutral government.”