BNP supporters holding a rally in front of the National Press Club on Thursday, November 25, 2021 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
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The party leaders threatened to overthrow the government by laying a siege to Ganabhaban
Top BNP leaders have announced that if their Chairperson Khaleda Zia is not released and sent abroad within the next 24 hours, there will be a movement to overthrow the government by laying siege to Ganabhaban.
On the first day of the eight-day program demanding the release of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, the party organised protests and rallies across the country on Thursday.
Former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who is in critical condition, has been undergoing treatment at a hospital.
As part of the program, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the BNP, held a protest rally in front of the National Press Club in the morning to press home the demand.
Speaking as the chief guest at the protest rally, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the party chief might have been subjected to slow poisoning during her stay in prison.
“As part of a plot hatched during the 1/11 changeover, she (Khaleda) was confined in jail by being convicted in false cases. She was kept there for two years in an abandoned damp building infested with rats,” he said.
“Many people have this question now. Was there any arrangement to slowly poison Khaleda Zia? We want to know this clearly. Nothing is impossible for them (the government),” the BNP leader alleged.
The government was conspiring not only to remove Khaleda Zia from politics but also kill her, commented Mirza Fakhrul.
“Their MPs and ministers say that they should let Khaleda Zia go on humanitarian grounds. She (Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) does not want to hear of it. Why don’t you want to listen? It is her vengeance, her revenge,” he said.
Although members of the law enforcement agencies were on alert at the program, no clashes took place.
Earlier, the BNP secretary general told party leaders and activists that these programs must be implemented in a peaceful and non-violent manner and any provocation or sabotage must be avoided.
Meanwhile, the Jubo Dal’s protest rally in Rangpur could not take place due to police intervention, district leaders complained.
Police stopped the procession when it was coming from the district BNP office at 11am Thursday. As a result, party leaders and activists were forced to hold a brief rally in an alley.
In Barisal, activists of the Chhatra Dal failed to hold a rally due to police obstruction. Three units of the Jubo Dal carried out separate programs instead.
Akhtaruzzaman Shamim, president of Mahanagar Jubo Dal, and Mamun Reza Khan, acting president of the district Jubo Dal, complained that the police were obstructing the procession despite permission having been acquired for the programme.
Kotwali police station Inspector (Investigation) Md Lokman Hossain said that the procession could cause public suffering if held on the busy roads.
On Friday, the BNP and its affiliated bodies will arrange doa mahfil in all mosques across the country after Juma prayers. Adherents of other religious beliefs will also arrange prayer sessions at their places of worship on the same day.
Besides, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a partner of the 20-party alliance, has declared that it will hold a programme of fasting on Friday to seek the recovery of Khaleda Zia.
The party will organize rallies in all district headquarters on December 30, while the Muktijoddha Dal will form human chains all over the country on December 2 and the Mohila Dal will take out silent processions across the country on December 1.
