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Published : 14 Oct 2013, 09:52 PM
As public fears deepened over the mounting tension between the battling parties, threatening a major spillover into violence, senior BNP leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka added fresh fuel to the fire by calling for armed resistance.
He was addressing a meeting of the main opposition's Dhaka metropolitan unit on Monday.
Earlier, addressing the meeting, BNP’s acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir reinforced Khoka's aggressive line, calling upon leaders and activists to prepare for an all out campaign after Oct 24 "to oust the present government".
Fakhrul thundered, "The quarter and semi-finals are over. Only seven days are left. Now it is the final round. For us there is no alternative to victory in this game," intensifying the all-or-nothing approach.
File Photo
Khoka said the BNP was all for holding a peaceful rally on Oct 25 and had no intention to "create chaos and unrest in the country".
But he added the BNP will not sit idly "if the rally was foiled".
"If the Awami league kills people with oars as it did in 2007, we won't spare them, we will respond sternly to that," said Khoka.
The BNP Vice Chairman urged upon people to remain prepared with their axes, spears, machetes, sticks and whatever they had if the Awami league attacked BNP leaders and activists anywhere.
Under new provisions in the Constitution after the 15th Amendment, the national elections must be held between Oct 25 and Jan 24, 2014. During this period, the Awami League will remain in power and Parliament will not be dissolved.
Both parties have chosen Oct 25 as a special day to launch their programmes, as countdown starts for the polls. While the BNP will hold a rally, the Awami League will also take to the streets the same day, adding to existing tensions.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police have received a request from the BNP to let it hold its rally in any one of the three venues-- Suhrawardy udyan, Paltan ground or in front of the Naya Paltan headquarters of the party.
Minister without Portfolio Suranjit Sengupta, however, has said that the BNP may not be permitted to hold a violent rally.
BNP metropolitan unit member Secretary Abdus Salam said, "Police have banned rallies on the streets, but we have information that the Awami League will hold its rally on Oct 25 in front of its office, closing the roads."
"We say that if the Awami League is allowed to hold its rally in front of its office in the street, then we will hold ours in front of our Naya Paltan office," said Salam.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is scheduled to speak at the party's rally. The metropolitan unit met on Sunday to make preparations for the programme.
Salam called upon activists to join the rally in big numbers from all city wards.
