BNP to announce oust-govt movement soon: declares Gayeshwar

BNP senior leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy on Tuesday threatened that their party will begin the final phase of movement soon to oust the Awami League government.

Speaking briefly before launching the Dhaka South City unit’s road march in front of the Bangladesh Medical in the capital's Dhanmondi area, he also called upon the government to accept their party’s demand for holding the next election under a non-party caretaker government if it wants to avoid the movement.

The BNP leader said their party is yet to give the final push in the movement to bring down the government.

“If Sheikh Hasina steps down by accepting our demand, then there is no need to start this movement. We know she won't do it. We’ll soon come up with the announcement for a movement to unseat this regime,” he said.

The BNP leader said their party’s main objective is to restore democracy and the people’s ownership of the country.

He said their only demand is for a free and fair election so that people can freely elect their representatives as per their wishes.

The BNP leader said the main point of their party’s 10-point demand is that election must be held under an impartial government in a free and fair manner.

“We want the resignation of this government and dissolution of the parliament. I call upon the government to accept the demands of a non-partisan neutral government,” he said.

Later, several thousand leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies began the road march towards the Science Lab area amid the presence of a huge number of law enforcers.

At the end of the programme peacefully, a chase and counter-chase took place between police and BNP leaders and activists in front of the City College area.

 Later, police lobbed tear gas shells and charged batons to disperse the BNP men.

 The BNP activists also hurled brick chips targeting police, said Deputy Commissioner of Ramna division of DMP Md Ashraf Hossain.

 A vehicle was set on fire during the clash while some others were vandalised.

 “Police took the situation under control and arrested some people from the spot,” said DC Ashraf.

 Ashraf said a group of BNP leaders and workers attacked the police and obstructed the movement of vehicles, forcing the law enforcers to go into action.

He said 8/9 police personnel were injured in the attack. "We have arrested 15 people in this connection.”

Dhaka South City unit BNP convener Abdus Salam said they ended their road march peacefully near LabAid and asked their leaders and workers to go to their respective destinations.

“But police attacked our leaders and activists when they were returning home, leaving many of the injured. They also attacked our some leaders and activists, including Dhanmondi unit president Robiul Islam Robi,” he said

Salam strongly condemned this incident and demanded the release of the arrested leaders and activists immediately.

BNP’s Dhaka North City unit, however, staged their road-march programme peacefully in the city’s Gabtoli area.

Several thousand leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies joined the programme which was inaugurated by party standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan.

As part of BNP’s programme in all cities, a similar programme was held in other cities, except Rajshahi, to press home their 10-point demand, including holding the next general election under a non-party caretaker government.

The programme was also meant for registering the party’s protest against the filing of ‘ghost’ cases against opposition leaders and activists, soaring prices of essentials, frequent power cuts and the all-pervasive corruption by the Awami League government.

In Rajshahi, law enforcers cordoned off the BNP’s Rajshahi city unit office at Malopara and restricted the gathering of people and movement of vehicles around the area, foiling the part’s road-march programme.

Police and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams took a position at the entrance of the BNP office in the morning, barring entry to anyone, while owners of nearby shops were compelled to keep their shutters down, resulting in the cancellation of BNP’s scheduled march programme, reports UNB.