Last update on: Fri Aug 25, 2023 10:50 PM
BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas has alleged that the government has adopted new ways of torturing the party men.
The government previously used to kill BNP leaders and activists by “shooting and making them disappear”, but now they are being murdered by “beating and being held behind bars”, he said.
Abbas was addressing a rally in front of the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office in the capital this afternoon ahead of a mass procession.
The party’s south and north city units organised two mass processions to press home its one-point demand — resignation of the government and general elections under a non-party, neutral government.
The procession of the Dhaka south city BNP started from Nayapaltan intersection and ended at Doyaganj intersection.
Claiming that “ill-educated people” are taking the country on the verge of destruction, Abbas said, “They don’t love the country. They love money. They have looted money, amassed wealth, and laundered thousands of crores of taka abroad.”
Alleging that the value of Tk100 has now come down to Tk14, he said, “People are being economically impaired due to the abnormal price hike of essentials. They are also being politically impaired because of the killings and disappearances.”
Referring to recent media reports on India’s stance on Bangladesh’s general elections, Abbas said India should make friendship with the people rather than with particular political parties like Awami League and BNP.
Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, another BNP standing committee member, said, “We are not afraid of death anymore. Don’t try to point gun at us. Nobody will retreat in the face of your [the government] firing.”
Another procession by BNP’s north city unit began from the Shyamali intersection and ended at Mohammadpur Bus Stand.
BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who led the procession, said Awami League has now become an “opponent of the people”. He said nobody can win going against the people.
About Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tour of South Africa, he said, “She went to South Africa spending public money. She wanted to make the country a member of BRICS, but she couldn’t. Instead, she sought votes for Awami League and rebuked BNP.”
“There is no bigger ‘militant party’ than the Awami League … They cannot stay in power any longer.”
Braving rain, thousands of BNP leaders and activists joined both the processions which began around 4:00pm and ended around 5:30pm.
Carrying banners, festoons, placards, and portraits of the party’s top leaders, they waved black flags and chanted anti-government slogans.
Roads stretching from Nayapaltan to Dayaganj and Shyamali to Mohammadpur were crowded with BNP leaders and activists, causing disruptions to traffic in and around those areas.
A large number of law enforcers were deployed in those areas to avoid any untoward situation.
Meanwhile, the BNP’s 36 like-minded parties also brought out mass processions in the capital yesterday as part of their simultaneous movement to press for the one-point demand.
ROHINGYA CRISIS
Later in the day, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary general of BNP, at a press conference said the government has failed to address the Rohingya crisis.
He called for ensuring better life for Rohingyas and their quick repatriation by taking into account the concerns and recommendations made by different stakeholders, including human rights organisations and international NGOs.
The press conference was held at the BNP’s central office on the occasion of six years of the Rohingya influx into Bangladesh.