BNP postpones rally for Khaleda as it fails to secure police permission

The BNP has suspended a rally it planned at the Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on Thursday as police have not responded to its three petitions for permission.

The party organised an ‘emergency’ media conference at its headquarters at Naya Paltan on Wednesday afternoon to announce the postponement.

“Police are wasting time over the permission for the rally. It’s clear that they will not give us the permission. That’s what they want,” Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said.

According to him, police did not give the permission until 4pm.

He said not letting a ‘large party’ like the BNP organise a rally was a ‘reflection of the government’s autocratic behaviour’.

“It has proved that the report tagging the government autocratic is correct. We are postponing the March 29 rally for now,” the BNP leader said.

He did not give a new date for the rally. The party planned the rally to demand release of its chief Khaleda Zia who is serving a five-year jail term in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

BNP leaders met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Tuesday to seek permission for the rally, but there has been no outcome of the meeting.

“We wanted to believe the government would give us the permission. But the home minister told the media yesterday that police were the authority to give the permission on the basis of intelligence feedback.

“His remarks have proved that police are running the country. Bangladesh is under police grip as the Awami League has become a rotting party,” Rizvi said.  

He also said his party has deferred the Apr 4 rally in Rajshahi to Apr 15.