A fear of worsening law and order situation mounts as the BNP-led 18-party alliance demanding polls-time caretaker government is determined to go ahead with its scheduled October 25 public rallies in the capital and elsewhere despite restrictions. The decision to stick to the plan was taken at the secretary general-level meeting of the alliance held at itschief Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in the capital on Wednesday afternoon.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Khaleda Zia would announce the alliance’s next course of action at the rally. He said this at a press conference following the meeting.
On October 20, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) imposed an indefinite ban on political activities to avert any untoward situation ahead of the opposition’s scheduled rally.
Alamgir reiterated his call to the government to withdraw the ban in the interest of a peaceful public meeting. “We want to make it very clear that our public meeting will be held here at around 2 pm on Friday and our alliance chief Khaleda Zia will deliver her speech there at any cost. Rallies will also be held across the country at the same time.”
“Please lift the ban and extend your cooperation so that we can hold our meetings in a peaceful manner. Otherwise, the government will be held responsible for any unpleasant incident,” he added.
Terming the ban unconstitutional and undemocratic, Fakhrul said: “I believe that good sense will prevail on the government for the sake of the country’s congenial political atmosphere.”
He lambasted the government for ‘arresting and harassing’ opposition activists without any justification.
Several ministers were provoking law enforcers against the Opposition, he alleged. Such harassment would not pave the way for a dialogue to end the political standoff, Alamgir said.
The government would not be able to thwart the Opposition’s movement through repressive and oppressive measures, he said.
In response to a question, the BNP acting secretary general said his party did not believe in creating anarchy during political transition. The government itself was planning to create anarchy and for that it had imposed a ban on the Opposition’s activities, he said.
Responding to another question, Fakhrul said the leader of the Opposition had made a formal proposal on election-time administration. Talks between the government and the Opposition could be held over the issue based on Begum Zia’s election-time strategy.
Jamaat-e-Islami working committee member Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Khelafat Majlish secretary general Ahmed Abdul Quader, Redwan Ahmed of the Liberal Democratic Party, Alamgir Majumdar of the National Democratic Party, Khandakar Latfar Rahman of the Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Fariduzzaman Farhad of the People’s Party and others were present at the meeting. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was in the chair.
-With The Independent input
