Dhaka, Aug 31 – The BNP is going to make a call from Saturday’s rally to all political alliances and parties outside the ruling AL-led 14-party alliance for a national unity on the issue to hold the next general elections under a neutral government, according to party leaders. Party leaders from other likeminded parties are likely to attend the BNP’s founding anniversary public meeting to be held in front of the party central office this afternoon as the guest speaker and express their solidarity to the national unity process, hinted the leaders.
The BNP will also highlight its demands including holding the next national elections under a neutral administration after freeing party chairperson Khaleda Zia, dissolving parliament, deployment of army with magistracy power, reconstitution of the Election Commission and staying away from the move to introduce Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) system in the forthcoming polls, the leaders added.
The BNP is celebrating its 40th founding anniversary today (September 1) in the absence of Khaleda Zia, who is serving a five-year jail term in a graft case.
However, the party plans to stage a large showdown at its public meeting to be held in front of the party’s central office at Naya Paltan at 2:00 pm.
Party standing committee members yesterday had a meeting at chairperson’s Gulshan office to discuss the overall situation in the political arena and party strategies and next course of action ahead of the next general polls likely to be held sometime in December this year.
Party leaders expect that over 100,000 people would gather at today public meeting for a big showdown to flex its muscle before the next general elections.
The party has taken massive preparation to make the rally a success, the leaders hinted.
They said party leaders and activists and people from different areas of the city and adjacent districts would join today’s rally for which they got verbal permission from police three days ago.
The leaders however alleged that the government has gone for arbitrary arrest of BNP leaders and activists in the outline districts of Dhaka like Manikganj, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Munshiganj and Narsingdi to create panic among them to organize people to attend Dhaka rally.
Talking to Journalists, BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman said the issue of national unity is very important at this moment and as a major political party the BNP would play its pioneering role in this regard.
He said the party would focus on its demands including freeing chairperson Khaleda Zia and holding the next general elections under a neutral government.
The former army chief said this rally would be larger one as he said it would reflect the demands of the time.
Replying to a question, he said leaders from other political parties are likely to attend the meeting.
BNP joint secretary general Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal hoped that the public meeting would be the bigger one and it would focus different contemporary issues including forging a national unity and EC’s move to amend the RPO and introduce EVM system in the next polls.
He also expects that the party leaders would also focus on its demands to hold the next polls under neutral government after freeing chairperson Khaleda Zia, dissolving parliament, deployment of the army.
The former BNP lawmaker hinted that as part of the national unity process, some leaders of like-minded parties are likely to attend the rally as guests.
He alleged that the government has gone for arbitrary arrest BNP leaders and activists in different areas in adjacent districts of Dhaka so that they cannot organize to join today’s rally.
The last time the party had organised a rally in the capital was on November 12 last year at Suhrawardy Udyan. Its appeal to hold a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan was recently turned down thrice. The police, however, allowed the BNP bring out Independence Day procession from in front of the party office on March 27 this year.
On September 1, 1978, the late President, Ziaur Rahman, founded the party, wooing leaders and activists from various parties with a 19-point programme to build a self-reliant Bangladesh.
Khaleda has been kept in the Old Dhaka Central Jail since she was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case by a lower court on February 8.
Meanwhile, the BNP and its affiliated bodies have taken up elaborate programmes, including discussions, public meetings, hosting the party flag, placing wreaths at the grave of the party founder and taking out a colourful procession, to mark the party’s founding anniversary.
The party flag will be hoisted atop BNP’s Naya Paltan central office and all other offices across the country at 6:00 am on the day.
Besides, the party leaders and activists will place wreaths and offer munajat (special prayers) at the grave of its founder Ziaur Rahman at 10:00 am.
The party will also arrange a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh on Sunday.
After the assassination of Ziaur Rahman on 30 May 1981 in Chattogram, his widow Khaleda Zia took over party leadership.
In its 39 years, BNP had been in power four times and in the opposition bench twice. But following the 5 January 2014 election boycott, the party remains out of parliament.
BNP has been out of power for over 11 years since the 1/11 political changeover. – Staff Reporter
