When the activists realised that Khaleda Zia would not attend the programme, the audience started leaving the venue
Everyone expected BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to attend the rally of the 20-party alliance at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital yesterday afternoon.
Even after the meeting had gone one for one and a half hours, an official of the BNP chairperson’s press wing told the Dhaka Tribune that she would reach the venue at any moment. The main banner hung behind the stage said she was the chief guest.
Some members of Chairperson’s Security Force, assigned to ensure her security, were also on the stage.
Thousands of people, including many who came from other parts of the country, thronged the venue, hoping to see their leader and listen to her deliver a speech at the rally organised to protest against the national broadcast policy formulated by the government.
They gathered there with the hope that Khaleda Zia would announce the next course of action that the party and the alliance would adopt in the coming days.
But finally, the BNP chief did not attend the rally. BNP’s Dhaka City Unit Convener Mirza Abbas said she could not come due to an illness and said sorry on behalf of the chairperson. Later, party’s Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir addressed the rally as the chief guest.
Earlier on Monday night, Khaleda’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan told the Dhaka Tribune that the decision to join the programme was yet to be finalised.
Syrul Kabir Khan, an official of chairperson’s press wing, at 3.30pm yesterday said she would start towards the venue.
Nevertheless, the party apparently succeeded in ensuring an impressive gathering which it badly needed. Because the party had to prove that it still had strong public support despite the failure of the January 5 election resistance movement.
Braving the rain, party leaders and activists started congregating at the venue from 2:00 pm. At around 3:30 pm, heavy downpour forced theleaders and activists to leave the venue to take shelter in an adjacent building. The activists were scattered till the last minute of the programme.
When the activists realised that Khaleda Zia would not attend the programme, the audience started leaving the venue.
Earlier this year, the BNP-led alliance staged a long march in the country’s northern region, protesting against India’s move to hold back Teesta water. It was announced before the programme that BNP chief Khaleda Zia would not attend it.
This programme eventually saw very little participation and enthusiasm not only from the public, but also from the BNP’s grass-roots level leaders and activists.
Last year, the BNP-led alliance organised another political rally at the same venue. Khaleda Zia was supposed to attend the programme and it attracted an impressive gathering.
But she eventually did not turn up at that rally. However, she delivered a speech through video conference.
Jamaat-e-Islami, the second largest component of the BNP-led 20-party alliance, had a strong presence in yesterday’s gathering at Suhrawardy Udyan. The Jamaat and Shibir men carried large banners and posters, demanding the release of their detained leaders and activists.
When their leader Nayeb-e-Ameer Mojibur Rahman started delivering speech, the audience in the front row, who were mainly activists from Jamaat and Shibir, started clapping and chanting slogans “Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar”.
Chaired by Mirza Abbas, the rally was also addressed by senior leaders of the party and its alliance.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
