Dhaka – Opposition BNP on Thursday threatened to intensify the
18-party’s ongoing movement to force the government to hold the next
polls under a non-party government.
“The government’s departure bell has started ringing the way our
movement is moving ahead with a breakneck pace. The movement will be
strengthened further with harsher programmes,” said BNP joint
secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
Addressing a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office about
the 3rd day of the BNP-led 18-party’s 71-hour rail-road-waterway
blockade, the BNP leader came up with the remarks.
Rizvi once again called upon the government to take steps for
resolving the ongoing political crisis through talks, shelving its
plan for holding a unilateral election.
“I would like to tell the government there’s still time. Take
initiatives for a dialogue turning back from the path of bloodshed and
disaster, stop the acts of sabotage across the country by the ruling
party cadres and restore peace and relief for people,” he added.
The BNP leader harshly criticised the Election Commission and termed
it a salve of the government for announcing the election schedule to
arrange a lopsided election.
“The Commission by announcing the election schedule stopped the path
of compromise between the government and the opposition and ignited
chaos and anarchy. No free, fair and credible election is possible
under it,” Rizvi said.
He also alleged that the EC is working like a devoted worker of the
ruling party. “The country’s people burst into anger against this
puppet commission.”
Rizvi said the law enforcers are harassing the opposition leaders and
activists and their family members by raiding their houses.
He condemned the alleged the attack on the Chittagong house of BNP
leader Amir Khashru Mahmud Chowdhury in the name of police raid and
arrest of opposition leaders, including Chittagong divisional BNP
organising secretary Golam Akbar Khandaker.
Rizvi claimed that an opposition activist was killed in firings by law
enforcers during the third day of the 18-party’s 71-hour blockade.
Besides, he said, police arrested over 350 opposition activists across
the country during the hartal hours, while more than 900 were injured
in attacks by law enforcers and ‘ruling party cadres’.
Over 6,000 opposition men were implicated in fresh ‘false’ cases, he
further claimed.
Rizvi said at least nine opposition leaders and activists were killed
and over 3,000 injured during the three-day of the blockade from
Tuesday to Thursday 4pm.
On Monday, the BNP-led 18-party alliance enforced a 48-hour
rail-road-waterway blockade from 6am on Tuesday, protesting the
announcement of the election schedule by Chief Election Commissioner
Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad announced for the national election.
Later on Wednesday, the opposition alliance extended the 48-hour
countrywide blockade up to 5:00am on Friday protesting what he said
killings of the opposition activists and repression on them during the
two-day blockade programme. -unb
