After 49 days, hundreds of BNP leaders and workers gathered in front of their party's central office in the city's Nayapaltan for the first time on Saturday, before bringing out a procession to mark the Victory Day, reports UNB.
From the rally, the leaders and supporters of the party chanted various slogans against the polls scheduled for January 7 election, calling it 'one-sided' and demanding cancellation of the polling schedule, with a view to holding a fair and inclusive election under a neutral government.
BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said the Awami League government is going to stage a mockery in the name of national election on January 7.
"The country was not liberated for holding such a joke of an election," he said while speaking at a rally in front of the central office prior to leading out the colourful rally.
They brought out the rally from Nayapaltan around 2:30 pm. After parading different roads via Kakrail to Malibag amid the presence of a huge number of law enforcers, it ended at Nayapaltan.
They held the national flags, banners, festoons and photos of party founder Ziaur Rahman and its top leaders in the procession. Activists from its surrounding districts and upazilas also participated in the rally.
After the party's foiled rally on October 28, most of the party leaders went into hiding in fear of arrest amid a crackdown by the law enforcers.
Though the BNP central office remains closed, party leaders and workers started gathering in front of it in small processions since 11:00 am
Addressing the gathering, Nazrul Islam Khan said the country's people do not want to see such a lopsided election and they will not go to the polling stations to exercise their right to vote on January 7.
As the people have no interest in the election, he said the ruling party has to field 'dummy candidates' from its own party.
"The way candidates are being nominated, everyone knows who will be the MPs," the BNP leader said. He alleged that the government has continued arresting and harassing BNP leaders and activists to hold a stage-managed election.
BNP standing committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan said democracy had won on December 16, 1971 - but not in the biggest matches.
Meanwhile, the BNP has deferred its today’s (Monday) hartal to Tuesday as Bangladesh will observe a one-day state mourning today ( Monday) following the demise of Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the decision at an emergency virtual press briefing on Sunday.
Now the daylong hartal will begin at 6:00 am on Tuesday and end at 6:00 pm the same day to protest the schedule for the next national election announced by the Election Commission (EC).
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