BNP to call nat\\\'nwide hartals if denied permission for rallies

BNP on Tuesday filed application with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and the Public Works Department (PWD) seeking clearance to hold 2 public rallies in the city on January 3 and 5. A reliable sources at the party said they submitted applications to the concerned authorities (Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the PWD) asking for their permission to stage meetings at either Suhrawardy Uddyan or Shapla Chattar, or in front of the BNP headquarters in Naya Paltan. The BNP-led 20-party coalition has long been planning to hold two public rallies on January 3 and 5 in Dhaka city marking January 5 which they say ‘Black Day of Democracy’. The 20-party bloc, led by the BNP, feels that the coalition’s movement to topple the government would gain a fresh impetus if the rallies are disallowed; in that case, tougher programmes would be enforced, party highups said. A member of the BNP standing committee, opting to remain anonymous, said if the authorities turn their application down like what they did in June and November this year, the 20 parties wil have no alternative to protest the government’s stance against the opposition by calling nationwide hartals and blockades, according to a news agency.