BNP rejects call to withdraw blockade for SSC tests

The BNP has rejected the education minister's call to end its blockade for the students who will be taking the SSC and equivalent examinations from Feb 2.

In a statement issued on party letterhead on Friday, Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said peace and stability would return to Bangladesh only if the government stepped down.

He said the education minister had urged the BNP and 20-Party Alliance to call off shutdowns and blockade considering the fate of 1.5 million test takers.

"The government has destroyed the education system by showing exaggerated results and pushing the students far from their studies and competition.

"What an irony they speak of the fate of the examinees!" Rizvi quipped.

The BNP and its allies have been enforcing a violent blockade since Jan 5 to press for a snap election under a 'neutral government'.

At least 40 people have been killed and over a hundred others injured in its violent agitation since then.

Senior ruling Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta on Friday said the BNP would have to decide on its agitations within a day or two as the SSC tests drew near.

"The government has a limit to its patience. It will be forced to take alternative measures to protect the future of 1.6 million students," he warned.

But Rizvi claimed the blockade was for the "peace and safety of the nation and for returning the people their rights".

The BNP leader alleged the government had destroyed space for a dialogue to reach an understanding.