Dhaka, Feb 13 (bdnews24.com)—BNP chief Khaleda Zia on Monday reached Chandpur to address a public rally and offer her condolences to families of those killed there, allegedly in police firing on the party's mass procession on Jan 29.
Having left her Gulshan office around 11.15am, with party's vice-president Selima Rahman in the same car, Khaleda's motorcade was greeted at Chandpur Circuit House by BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, joint-secretary general Mohammad Shahjahan, Chandpur district unit president Mominul Haque and other leaders.
Thousands of party supporters massed on both sides of the road at places such as Comilla's Madhumati, Lalmai and Laksam to cheer the former prime mnister. More than 100 welcoming archways have been built on the road from Comilla's Padua Bazaar to Chandpur on the occasion.
At Chandpur's Kachua, A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon, the education minister in Khaleda's 2001-06 cabinet, and thousands of supporters greeted the motorcade in prisoners' uniform, as a token protest against what the party claims are 'false' cases filed against its leaders and cadres by the Awami League.
Khaleda's press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan had told bdnews24.com earlier in the day that the BNP chief would address a public rally at Chandpur stadium in the afternoon. She is also scheduled to meet families of the deceased at the venue, Khan said.
On Jan 29, Limon Hossain and Abul Hossain were killed in Chandpur, allegedly in police firing on the rally the duo was part of.
Khaleda gave Tk 200,000 each to families of Limon and Abul through BNP joint-secretary general Mohammad Shahjahan.
On Jan 30, one Shafiqul, said to be a Jamaat-e-Islami activist, was killed in Rajshahi, again allegedly in police firing.
LAXMIPUR NEXT WEEK
Khaleda is scheduled visit Laxmipur on Feb 18 to offer her condolences to the family of the victim killed in the same mass procession programme.
The police had opened fire on BNP rallies in Chandpur and Laxmipur on Jan 29 in an effort to restore order after supporters got into clashes with police personnel during their procession.
Khaleda had called for the countrywide mass procession in support of the party's demand to restore the caretaker government system to oversee the next elections, due in 2014.
The Sheikh Hasina government last year amended the Constitution following a Supreme Court order to remove the non-party caretaker government provision, saying the system is contradictory to the spirit of Constitution.
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