Dhaka, Feb 15 – The BNP will hold another round of peaceful demonstrations across Bangladesh next week demanding the rlease of party chairperson Khaleda Zia.As part of the programme, the party will begin campaign for collection of signature of masses from Saturday, submit memorandum to offices of all the deputy commissioners (DCs) on Sunday and stage demonstration on Tuesday across the country, except Dhaka.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the fresh programme at a press conference at party’s headquarters at Naya Paltan in the city yesterday, a day after the three-day countrywide second-phase protests that ended Wednesday.
The second round of the BNP’s peaceful agitation programmes over sending Khaleda to jail ended Wednesday with the staging of token hunger strikes in the city and different parts of the country. Earlier, the BNP also staged countrywide demonstrations for Friday and last Saturday last after Khaleda was taken to jail, the party.
Announcing the programme, the BNP leader said they also wants to hold a public meeting at Suhrawardy Udyan in the city and a date will be fixed very soon.
“Beyond the announced programme, we want to hold a public meeting at at Suhrawardy Udyan and we will seek permission for it after deterring the date at party forum,” he said. He hoped that authorities would allow them to hold the meeting.
The BNP leader accused the government of intentionally delaying of Khaleda Zia, who is jailed in a corruption case.
“We are yet to get the certified copy of the verdict though a week has already passed after the verdict. This proves that the government is intentionally delaying the release,” he said.
Mirza Alamgir further said they were already assuming that Khaleda would be confined in jail for a longer time.
He alleged that the government is trying to forcefully stop our peaceful program,” the BNP leader said.
The BNP leader reiterated that they want peace not any violence in a bid to create a congenial atmosphere in the country so that people can exercise their voting right freely.
‘With this goal in mind, we are carrying out peaceful programmes demanding unconditional release of our leader (Khaleda),” he said.
Like other years, the BNP will place wreath at Shaheed MInar on February 21 morning to pay homage to the martyrs of language veterans, he said.
Earlier, the BNP observed a token hunger strike on Wednesday while formed a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club on Monday and staged a sit-in programme in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office on Tuesday demanding the release of former premier, who has been convicted for five years in a graft case.
A special court on February 8 sentenced Khaleda to five years’ imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case and she was then sent to the old central jail at Nazimuddin Road in the city.
Standing committee member Mirza Abbas, vice chairman Barkatullah Bulu, Abdul Awal Mintoo, Nitay Chandra Roy, Joynal Abedin Faruk, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, among others, were presence at the press conference. – Staff Reporter
