Published : 07 Aug 2024, 09:08 PM
Updated : 28 Aug 2026, 01:11 AM
Thousands of BNP leaders and activists have gathered in front of the party’s headquarters in Dhaka’s Naya Paltan for a mass rally.
The event kicked off at 2pm with a recitation from the Quran. Special prayers were offered at the start of the rally for those killed during democratic movements and the quota reform movement.
Thousands march from Kakrail to the Fakirapul Junction to take part in the programme.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir presided over the event.
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will join the rally from London over Skype as the chief guest.
In the face of a mass movement, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina resigned from her premiership and fled the country with her sister Sheikh Rehana on Aug 5.
“This rally is a victory celebration for democracy over fascism,” said BNP Joint General Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. “The presence of hundreds of thousands of people shows how popular the nationalist forces are with the people of the country. This popularity is the popularity of the martyred President Ziaur Rahman, the advocate of multi-party democracy, the leader of the country Begum Khaleda Zia, and the popularity of the country’s hero Tarique Rahman.”
BNP Standing Committee members, Nazrul Islam Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmood Chowdhury, recently released from jail, and hundreds of central leaders were in attendance.
A stage was built in front of the office for the event. A large electronic screen was installed on stage from where Tarique will give a live speech from London.
A High Court ban had prevented Tarique’s speeches from being broadcast in the media over the past 15 years.
The BNP’s headquarters in Naya Paltan has been the site of many such public rallies. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has spoken at many of them.
On Oct 18 last year, Tarique spoke at a huge BNP rally in London demanding Hasina’s resignation and announced an all-out movement against the government. The Bangladeshi media could not publicise the speech at the time.
