Khaleda asks govt to exercise restraint during hartal

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Opposition leader and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia Friday asked the police and the civil administration to act impartially during the Sunday's dawn-to-dusk hartal, reports UNB.
She also urged the ruling party "not to let loose its terrorists on streets" by organizing any counter program to the hartal.
Khaleda gave the calls at a press conference at her Gulshan office Friday afternoon, two days ahead of the nationwide day-long hartal, the first against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 18-month-old government.
"We and the people want to observe hartal peacefully," she said and urged the government not to obstruct their peaceful program or resort to any provocative acts.
The BNP chairperson urged the "responsible persons" to ensure that no official make any excess or behave in a biased manner.
Asked about the DMP Commissioner's caution against meetings and processions on the streets on the hartal day, Khaleda said if the government and its agencies create impediments, they will have to bear the responsibility of any evolving situation.
The opposition leader said they have not yet raised formal demand for the resignation of the government or for mid-term elections. "I would like to tell the people in power that still there is time to correct them by realizing the gravity of the situation."
She said: "If the people of Bangladesh do not want you, local or foreign forces will not be able to keep you in power."
Khaleda said the Sunday's hartal is an "alert" and the BNP's next course of action will depend on how the government behaves during hartal and in the future.
She alleged that a large number of BNP leaders and workers have been arrested across the country, including the capital, ahead of the hartal and attempts are being made to arrest more party activists.
The BNP chairperson condemned such repressive actions of the government and demanded immediate release of the arrested party leaders and workers.
She urged people of all walks of life to express protest against the present "oppressive" government through the June 27 countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal by suspending their daily activities stopped for a few hours.
She said the people of Chittagong have given "a historic mass verdict" against the failure and misrule of the government through the just concluded Chittagong City Corporation elections.
The opposition leader hoped that the government would heed to the alert signal that the people of Chittagong sent to the government.
She said the government has earned the "condemnation" of people all over the country through their various ill-attempts including media coup to foil the results of the CCC polls. She congratulated the people of Chittagong for foiling those ill-attempts through heroic, timely resistance.
Khaleda called upon the countrymen to make the Sunday's hartal a total success, following the positive path shown by the people of Chittagong.
She said they were compelled to call the hartal to focus people's protest against the huge losses caused to the country, countrymen and economy due to the government's "failure and misrule."
She said the hartal is against the government's ill-attempts to halt the pace of development, production, education, employment, and trade and commerce. "This hartal is to protect the freedom and rights of the people and against the government repression."
About parliament, the leader of the opposition urged the government to make parliament meaningful and effective by accepting the demands of the opposition in order to protect the democratic system.
She mentioned that the BNP lawmakers had given many notices for discussion on various important issues in the House including the deteriorating law and order, price-hike of essentials, acute crisis of gas, electricity and water, the Pilkhana killings, and agreements against national interests.
"But not a single issue was discussed… they (ruling party) did not agree to discuss anything and instead resorted to sycophancy and character assassination of the opposition in parliament."
"This way they have made the parliament meaningless and ineffective," Khaleda said adding that even many of their (ruling party) lawmakers have compared the present parliament with "fish market" and "zoo."
She said there remains no scope in such a parliament for the opposition to play its role.
The BNP chairperson said the government in its last one and a half years in office did not give any attention to implementing its election pledges. "Rather they are now denying their various commitments that tantamount to cheating people."
Before addressing the press conference at 6:10 pm, Khaleda Zia held a meeting with the BNP standing committee members at her Gulshan office.