BNP-led alliance kicks off road march towards Sylhet on Monday

---

The BNP-led four-party alliance has completed most of the preparations to kick off its road march on Monday towards Sylhet to be led by opposition leader Khaleda Zia, mainly to seek people's support for restoring the caretaker government provision in the Constitution, reports UNB. The upcoming road march will be the first major mass contact political programme of BNP both individually and jointly with its allies against the nearly three-year-old Awami League-led grand alliance government. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia will lead the road march that will start from Dhaka at around 10.00 am, according to party insiders. BNP joint secretary general and member secretary of the Dhaka-Sylhet road march preparatory convening committee M Shahjahan told UNB on Friday that Khaleda Zia will address six wayside public meetings while leading the road march to Sylhet divisional headquarters. The wayside meeting spots are Tarabo in Rupganj Upazila of Narayanganj, Itakhola in Narsingdi, Bhairab in Kishoreganj, Shayestaganj in Habiganj, and Sherpur in Moulvibazar district. Shahjahan said a preparatory meeting of greater Sylhet BNP was held in Sylhet city Friday to make the road march and October 11 public meeting at historic Alia Madrasah Maidan a success. The public meeting will be held at 2 pm. Khaleda will address the public meeting to conclude the Sylhet road march programme. Other top leaders of the four-party alliance will also address the public meeting. The BNP chairperson will stay overnight on October 10 in Sylhet. Components of the four-party alliance including Islami Oikya Jote and Khelafat Majlish also took preparations to make the Dhaka-Sylhet road march success. Khelafat Majlish Ameer Moulana M Ishaque told the agency on Friday that he and other central leaders will join the road march from Dhaka. IOJ secretary general Abdul Latif Nezami said he and other central leaders will join the road march. A leader of Jamaat-e-Islami said that though the party has not yet decided which central leaders will join the road march but almost all the leaders will join. The road march programme has been designed mainly to press for the restoration of non-party caretaker government provision that has been scrapped from the Constitution through the 15th amendment by the party in power. BNP postponed the October 25-26 road march towards Chittagong divisional headquarters as many of its leaders in Chittagong plans to go to Saudi Arabia to perform the holy hajj. The October 18-19 Dhaka-Rajshahi Road march has been extended by a day incorporating Khaleda Zia's public meeting in Natore on October 20. On October 18, Khaleda Zia will lead the road march from Dhaka towards Rajshahi and address a public meeting in Bogra on the same day. She will stay overnight in Bogra. On October 19, the opposition leader will lead the road march from Bogra, address a public meeting in Chapainawabganj and stay overnight in Rajshahi. Khaleda will also address several wayside meetings while leading the Dhaka-Rajshahi road march, according to the party sources.