The BNP will seek permission to hold its public rally, scheduled for Nov 8, at a different venue.
Published : 04 Nov 2016, 03:49 PM
The party's request to hold the rally at Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan for 'National Revolution and Solidarity Day' was denied by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Friday.
"We'll definitely seek an alternative venue. We'll hopefully get the permission we need," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam told reporters.
The BNP first requested that it be permitted to hold the rally on Nov 7 but later shifted the date to Nov 8 following a threatening comment made by a leader of the ruling Awami League.
However, the DMP rejected the BNP’s request on Friday morning.
"No party will be allowed to hold any programme at Suhrawardy Udyan either on Nov 7 or Nov 8,” Deputy Commissioner (Media) Masudur Rahman told bdnews24.com.
The authorities, he said, had been forced into taking the decision because more than one party had announced similar programmes at the same venue and on the same day.
The DMP official however did not say which other party had applied for holding a rally at the venue that coincided with the BNP’s rally.
Fakhrul, condemning the move, said: "The government, by not granting us the venue, has proved once again that it wants to establish an autocratic system."
He hoped that permission for an alternate venue would be provided but did not mention a specific location.
On Nov 7, 1975 an uprising following a coup catapulted Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman to power. The BNP commemorates the day as ‘National Revolution and Solidarity Day’.
After the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members on Aug 15, 1975, Major General Ziaur Rahman was appointed army chief of staff in succession to Major General KM Safiullah.
Zia was placed under house arrest when Brigadier, subsequently Major General Khaled Musharraf launched a counter-coup on Nov 3. Four days later, on Nov 7, as Musharraf’s coup collapsed, Zia was freed by soldiers loyal to him and placed in power. Musharraf was killed on the day by mutinous troops.
In April 1977, Zia took over as president of the newly-liberated nation from Justice ASM Sayem and subsequently founded the BNP.
The Awami League refers to Nov 7 as ‘Freedom Fighters Massacre Day’.
The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSoD), now an ally of the Awami League, observes the day as 'Day of Uprising of Soldiers and People'.
Fakhrul was talking to reporters after paying tribute to Ziaur Rahman at his grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal President Shafiul Bari Babu and General Secretary Abdul Quader Bhuiyan Jewel were also present.
A faction of the Jatiyotabadi Swechchhasebak Dal led by the two leaders got approval from BNP on Oct 27.
Fakhrul, turning his attention to the recent hate attacks on Hindus at Brahmanbarhia's Nasirnagar Upazila, blamed the government for the situation.
He claimed that the government was using the law enforcement agencies to gain political benefits.
"A vested group that wants to shift the people's attention away from the core demand for democracy has carried out the attacks," he said.