Tension has spread among the public as both the ruling party and the opposition are preparing to hold programmes across the country today, particularly in the capital.
Despite an adamant stance throughout the entire day, last night BNP announced that it would hold rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in the afternoon today as permitted by police, for the sake of “peace and understanding.”
Earlier BNP leaders had been saying they were determined to hold the rally in front of the party’s central office at Nayapaltan, although Dhaka Metropolitan Police had given the party conditional permission to hold the rally at Suhrawardy Udyan.
Alliance Chief Khaleda Zia will address the rally and is likely to announce programmes from there.
BNP and its allies are likely to go for tough and non-stop agitation programmes from today’s rally as their ultimatum to introduce non-party caretaker administration to the constitution by October 25 is expiring today.
Ruling party Awami League’s Dhaka city unit on the other hand, cancelled its plan to hold a rally scheduled for today, saying it was a “law-abiding” party. However, it asked its leaders and activists to take to the streets to resist any move “to create anarchy by opposition activists.”
Apart from the capital, the opposition alliance has plans to hold rallies in different districts demanding elections under a non-partisan interim government. Awami League has also announced various programmes.
Consequently, local administrations in a number of districts have imposed section 144 meaning ban on gatherings with a view to avoiding possible confrontation.
The government has asked the administration to take all-out security measures in this situation. Scores of activists of the opposition alliance were detained in different districts.
BNP has discussed in its standing committee meeting and alliance meeting about waging non-stop hartals and blockades from October 27 but the political situation has changed since Khaleda Zia’s proposal of polls-time interim government.
The party originally had a plan of waging non-stop hartal and blockades programme from October 27 if the government barred its rally.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police last night also allowed the Chittagong city unit of Awami League and BNP to hold their rallies today at different venues in the port city.
AL got permission to hold their rally at Shahid Minar while BNP was allowed to hold their programme at Kazir Dewri.
Tougher programmes may be delayed
“As the government has permitted us to hold the rally, the programmes might be changed,” said a standing committee member seeking anonymity.
A number of senior leaders said they might go for softer programmes right now as BNP had sent letters to Awami League and placed the interim government proposal in parliament.
“We should go for non-stop tough programmes from November 7 as the tenure of the government will expire that day,” said another Standing Committee member.
However, a section of leaders said they planned such programmes thinking the tenure of the parliament would be “expired” on October 24 and Khaleda Zia also gave the ultimatum thinking of it. But the government has extended the current session of the parliament till November 7.
“So there might be some changes in the programmes as we have to wait and see government move before we go for all-out movement,” a senior leader said.
He also said the party high command had asked the district presidents and general secretaries to go to their constituency to stage large-scale showdowns.
He also said the party high-ups had already met district level leaders and asked leaders from Gazipur, Narsindi, Munsiganj, Narayanganj and Manikganj to join the Dhaka rally.
BNP has took the strategy that they would come to the meeting venue splitting into small groups, said party insiders adding already a huge number of leaders have reached the capital from the adjacent districts.
Dhaka Tribune correspondents in different districts reported that many people planning to stay home fearing possible violence. Traffic movement has decreased as well. Presence of law enforcers was noticeable in possible conflict zones.
Islamist parties gear up
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami issued a statement on Thursday urging party activists to participate in the 18-party alliance rallies in all districts and upazilas.
“I am urging people in all upazila and districts to make the 18-party rallies on October 25 a success,” party’s acting general secretary Rafiqul Islam Khan said in the statement.
Another Islamist ally of BNP, Islami Oikya Jote, said they were fully prepared to participate in the rally. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, IOJ chief Abdul Latif Nezami alleged that law enforcers had arrested his party activists and leaders in the last couple of days to harass them.
BGB was deployed in Sylhet as BNP called for a rally and Awami League a mass procession in the city.
Four activists of Islami Chattra Shibir were arrested under charges of sabotage.
Bogra district administration imposed a 36-hour ban from Thursday on all types of political meetings, rallies and protests in Bogra municipality area since AL and BNP arranged ralies at the same time today at Playground in Bogra town.
Gazipur, Feni, Rangpur district units of the BNP and AL called for a rally today in respective district headquarters.
Section 144 was imposed in Narayanganj, Comilla and Sirajgonj as the BNP and Awami League called for a rally today at same places.
Jamaat-Shibir activists blocked Satkhira-Kolaroa road for several hours on Thursday. Police arrested five shibir men from there. In Cox’s Bazar, the district unit BNP held a rally on Thursday violating a section 144 imposed by the local administration. A large number of activists attended the rally.