BNP rally denied permission

The BNP will not be allowed to hold a rally in Dhaka city on Sunday, police have said.

"It has been decided not to allow the rally considering the risks to the security of the public," Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told bdnews24.com.

The opposition alliance led by the BNP, which is boycotting the Jan 5 elections, announced a Dhaka march on Dec 29 to protest the polls, and a rally on Sunday at Nayapaltan where the party is headquartered.

The Leader of the Opposition, Khaleda Zia, had announced the ‘March for Democracy’ at a news conference after ending lengthy blockades.

A day later, a three-member delegation, headed by her chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque, submitted a letter to the DMP Chief Benazir Ahmed’s office on Wednesday, seeking permission for the programme.

The plice cmmissioner had not made any immediate commitment then.

BNP had also sought permission to use loudspeakers at the rally, with the Chief Whip saying they would give similar letters to the junior minister for home and home secretary seeking their 'cooperation'.

The BNP Chief has urged the people to resist the Jan 5 elections, which she has decided to boycott, demanding a non-party caretaker regime for poll oversight.

The elections are going to be held under an “all-party” government that the BNP has chosen not to join.

Hours after her press briefing on Tuesday, a policeman was burnt alive in a bomb attack on a bus at Dhaka's Bangla Motor.

Since then the police presence in front of Khaleda’s residence has been reinforced.

Police also picked up several BNP leaders and supporters when they tried to enter her home.