The programmes taken by the BNP are all provocative. The present programmes, including rallies reflect their hostile attitude to create chaos and destabilise the country. Their main objective is to oust the present government by resorting to violent activities. It seems the BNP has started war on people.
BNP does not want election and democracy, rather it wants to thwart national election by creating anarchy in the name of politics. There is no instance of holding of so many rallies causing public sufferings in the world.
Besides, BNP, also with other anti-liberation forces like Jamaat, fundamentalists, and conspirators at home and abroad, is trying to create confusion among the people of the country and the international community as well. And for this, BNP has been taking anti-people programmes since long.
Meanwhile, centring today’s (Friday) rallies and counter rallies by the ruling Awami League and opposition BNP and some of their like-minded parties, all the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies remain on high alert.
Mass people in the capital city of Dhaka and elsewhere in the country are tense due to apprehension of violence among the activists of both sides.
BNP and its like-minded parties are scheduled to hold separate rallies at Nayapaltan and the adjacent areas in the afternoon while, at the same time, a joint rally of three affiliated bodies of Awami League--Jubo League, Swechchhasebak League and Chhatra League--are also scheduled to hold theirs in front of the South gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque.
The BNP and its like-minded parties are going to hold their rallies to drum up support for their one-point demand of resignation of the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to hold the next 12th Parliamentary Election under a caretaker government.
The caretaker government system demanded by the BNP is an unconstitutional one and this system has earlier been rejected by the Supreme Court.
On the other hand, the affiliated bodies of the ruling Awami League have arranged a ‘Peace Rally’ in view of checking violence and anarchy by the opposition parties in the name of political programmes.
The venues of the rallies are very close to each other. Rallies of both the sides were supposed to be held on Thursday, but they shifted the schedule on request of the law-enforcement agencies and in view of public sufferings on office day.
Meanwhile, in view of ensuring security and averting violence centring rallies and counter rallies at the same and near to each other, all the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies have been put on high alert along with the deployment of a huge number of additional forces in and around all the venues of the rallies.
Besides, checkpoints have been installed at all the entrances to the capital and strategic points in Dhaka.
Alongside police, personnel from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Coast Guard, Border Guard Bangladesh and Ansar have been engaged for the security purpose, the sources said.
Besides, plainclothes personnel from different intelligence agencies have also been deployed all over the capital.
Moreover, close circuit cameras have been installed at many points to monitor the movement of the activists and the entire situation, while helicopters will remain hovering.
Law-enforcement and security officials said they were trying their best so that none could avail of any scope to cause trouble.
DMP Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq said as many parties intend to carry out rallies on the same day, it is a serious security concern.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has given permission to both the Awami League and the BNP to hold their rallies on Friday at their preferred locations subject to 23 conditions, the DMP Commissioner told the media at a press conference on Thursday.
However, the law enforcement agency has imposed a condition that BNP members cannot gather outside the periphery of the Rajarbagh Police Hospital intersection to Nightingale, and the Awami League has to restrict their gathering within Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium to zero point.
The conditions include, limiting the rally within the venue, deployment of adequate volunteers, installation of CCTV cameras and metal detectors for checking participants while holding the rally, no loudspeakers and projectors can be set up outside the venues, no gathering on roads adjacent to the venue, any speech or display of any content or caricature that may hurt religious sentiment cannot be given or published and participants cannot carry objects like sticks and rods.
