Amid speculations over whether the DMP ban on public gatherings would force the Awami League to call off today’s Suhrawardy Udyan rally, the state minister for home has said the restrictions would not be there on Monday.
“The DMP’s restrictions against public gatherings in the city would be lifted tomorrow [Monday] morning,” State Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
But when asked about securing police permission for the rally, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif told the Dhaka Tribune at 7pm: “We have not received permission as of yet. But we will hold the meeting if the DMP permits... We respect the law. So without police permission, we will not hold any activity.”
However, later in the evening, DMP Deputy Commissioner (media) Saidur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that the police were yet to decide on whether to lift the restrictions, and it was still undecided whether the Awami League would be granted permission for the rally.
An official announcement on this regard would be made in the morning, he added.
Even if the restrictions are lifted, the ruling party would still have to face another set of challenges, as the BNP-led 20-party alliance and Chhatra Dal have called hartals in Dhaka-adjacent districts to run parallel with the ongoing blockade.
The Awami League is scheduled to hold a rally at the Suhrawardy Udyan to mark the 43rd anniversary of the Homecoming Day of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Party insiders said the Awami League leadership was preparing to show off their strengths by gathering thousands of people in the city for the scheduled rally.
Earlier, the Awami League rescheduled the rally from its original January 10 date in order to reduce any hassle to the Biswa Ijtema.
Meanwhile, the Awami League leadership has directed the party lawmakers and local unit chiefs from around Dhaka to stay alert ahead of Monday’s programme. The directive came from a joint meeting of the party, chaired by General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, held at Sheikh Hasina’s political office at Dhanmondi on Saturday.
Moreover, the Awami League president’s Dhanmondi office yesterday also sent a press release in which Syed Ashraf asked leaders and activists of the party and all its associate bodies to join the Suhrawardy Udyan rally to make it a success.