Dhaka Metro BNP leaders stop short of calling central leaders coward

The BNP's Dhaka Metropolitan South unit has stopped short of calling central leaders cowards as they brace for party chief Khaleda Zia’s graft trial verdict.

The remarks came on Monday at a rally organised by the unit, which was attended by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Addressing the rally, Dhaka South President Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohel, who also serves as a senior joint secretary general, called on activists to launch street protests on Feb 8, when a Dhaka court is expected to give its verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

Several leaders of Sohel’s unit said they want to see BNP central leaders on the street on that day.

They said they would force their leaders to “wear bangles” if they stay away from street protests, pejoratively suggesting the ornaments used by women symbolise cowardice.

Apparently backing the warnings, Sohel told party activists, “Get ready to take the streets. We will see how strong they (ruling party) are.”

In his address, Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul called for what he said a ‘tsunami of people against the government's conspiracy'.

Urging the youth to unite, he said, “We have grown old. We have been through in protests and movements the whole life and never stepped back.”

It is the youth who will bring changes, Fakhrul said, adding “You will have to stand strong to make the changes.”