BNP senior leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain on Thursday urged the students to play the key role in establishing the polls-time neutral government and unseating the current regime through a strong movement.
“The challenge before us now is to oust this government. Our main demands will be the resignation of the government, dissolution of parliament and the installation of the non-party caretaker government to hold a credible election,” he said
Speaking at a rally, the BNP leader recalled that Ayub Khan was ousted during the Pakistan period through a revolution of mass people and students. “The students played a pivotal role in that movement. The same way students saved the people of Bangladesh by ensuring the fall of despotic ruler Ershad in 1990 under the leadership of Chhatra Dal.”
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“The current autocratic regime will not go away easily…So, Chhatra Dal has to play the key role in restoring democracy and establishing the caretaker government by overthrowing this dictatorial Awami League government as they did during the anti-Ershad movement,” he said.
Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) arranged the programme in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, marking what BNP calls ‘National Revolution and Solidarity Day’ marking the ‘civil-military uprising’ on November 7, 1975.
Though the rally was scheduled to begin at 2pm, thousands of JCD leaders and activists from different parts of the capital thronged Nayapaltan by noon, halting traffic on both sides of the road in front of the BNP office, causing immense suffering to commuters.
Mosharraf, a BNP standing committee member, said the Awami League government fears BNP and the party’s leaders as it has been staying in power by snatching the votes of people on the previous night of the election day in 2018.
“Awami League has tried to run the country by giving lip services, but it has failed to do so. This party has annihilated democracy and brought the economy to the brink of destruction through plundering,” he observed.
The BNP leader said Bangladesh is now facing a shortage of dollars due to the widespread corruption and looting by the current regime.
“The people have got fed up with the current government’s misrule amid the growing price hikes in daily essentials and fuel and loadshedding of power. So, people of entire Bangladesh have got united to protect the country from the grasp of the current government,” he said.
Mosharraf said people are participating in BNP’s rallies spontaneously braving all obstacles to register their protest against misrule.
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“No barrier could stop our rallies. We believe the way the people across the country have made all the rallies successful by defying all the barriers, the rally of Dhaka will be successful in the same way,” he said.