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AL, allies to rally Saturday as BNP set to protest in Dhaka
The Awami League-led 14-party coalition has announced a rally for Saturday in Dhaka as its main rival the BNP is preparing for a similar demonstration in the capital the same day.
Published : 25 Sept 2018, 02:32 PM
Updated : 25 Sept 2018, 05:20 PM
The announcement by 14-party alliance spokesman Awami League leader Mohammed Nasim on Tuesday has heated up Bangladesh’s politics amid discussions of a fresh polarisation ahead of the general elections.
The BNP has asked its leaders and activists to be ready for waging the ‘final’ movement against the government while the ruling coalition says they will be out on the streets to tackle any unpleasant situation.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi at a news briefing earlier in the day announced the deferment of their Thursday’s rally at the Suhrawardy Udyan to Saturday.
Later, after a meeting of the ruling coalition at the Bangabandhu Avenue, Nasim announced their rally for Saturday at Mohanagar Natya Mancha.
He also said they would ‘get hold of Dhaka on that day’.
“The conspirators will hit the streets. We will see who will be on the street and who won't,” he said.
The BNP has thrown its support behind the Jatiya Oikya Prokriya of AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury’s Jukto Front alliance and Dr Kamal Hossain’s Gono Forum.
They are asking that the general election be held with a non-partisan government in power, a demand the ruling party has swatted away.
The Oikya Prokriya has given the government a deadline of Sept 30 to hold talks with the political parties on the election-time government.
Now the ruling coalition and the BNP’s plans to hold simultaneous programmes in Dhaka a day before the end of the deadline are expected to raise tension.
Senior BNP leader Moudud Ahmed at a discussion on Tuesday urged the leaders and activists to take ‘all-out preparations’ for the movement from Oct 1.
“We won’t let anyone score an empty net goal. We will be there with the people,” he said.
After the 14-party meeting on preparation of their rally, Nasim said they would maintain ‘the hold of Dhaka and the other parts of the country as well’.
He alerted the leaders and activists to ‘conspiracies’. “Take preparations in your areas so that the evil forces cannot hit the street,” he told them.
“You have no other job than staying alert to any conspiracy and anarchy in the next one month,” he added.
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