BNP leaders and activists will act as volunteers and sleepless sentinels at every Durga Puja mandap across the country, to ensure the safe and uninterrupted celebration of the festival by members of the Hindu community, BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Saturday.
“They will act as volunteers and sentinels at every Puja mandap like sleepless guards,” he said.
Rizvi made the remarks while briefing reporters after a meeting of the BNP’s highest policymaking body, the National Standing Committee, chaired by BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Saturday night.
The meeting began at 6:30pm at the BNP chairman’s office in Gulshan in the capital.
Rizvi said the meeting primarily discussed ensuring the safe and uninterrupted celebration of Durga Puja across the country, allowing members of the Hindu community to take part in the festivities and share their joy with others.
The party leaders discussed how BNP activists would coordinate with local Puja committees at different mandaps across the country and perform voluntary duties to help ensure security during the festival, he said.
“You know that various kinds of blueprints are being drawn by some quarters against the country and the democratic government,” Rizvi said.
He expressed hope that the government would be able to thwart all kinds of propaganda, misdeeds and conspiracies through efficient management and administration, adding that BNP leaders and activists would remain vigilant in this regard.
He said the meeting also discussed what steps could be taken on the issue and what the party had already done.
Rizvi said the BNP had formed a central Durga Puja monitoring committee on Friday under the leadership of Joint Secretary Generals Khairul Kabir Khokon and Syed Emran Saleh Prince, he added.
The party had also issued various instructions earlier to ensure the peaceful celebration of the festival, he said.
“We are deeply concerned about this issue, and all of us remain alert,” Rizvi said.
The meeting also discussed organisational matters, including the party’s future course of action and ways to further intensify its organisational activities, Rizvi said.
He said there was no discussion at the meeting about the upcoming local government elections.
Asked whether there was any message regarding the formation of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) committee, Rizvi said no such message had reached him so far that he could share with the media.
He also confirmed that the party’s national council was not discussed at the meeting.
Those present at the meeting included Gayeshwar Chandra Roy MP, Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Selima Rahman, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Power and Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmood Tuku, Social Welfare Minister Prof AZM Zahid Hossain, Amanullah Aman MP, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public Administration Ismail Zabiullah, and BNP Chairman’s Adviser Dr Farhad Halim Doner.