Police on Sunday barred BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and some other senior leaders from visiting Kalurghat Radio Station, from where its party founder Ziaur Rahman read out the declaration of independence on March 27, 1971.
At noon, Fakhrul together with party leaders and activists placed wreaths at Biplob Udyan and Bijoy Udyan paying homage to the martyrs of the Liberation War, Chittagong BNP ex-office secretary Idris Ali told UNB.
When the BNP leaders set out for Kalurghat Radio Station, they were obstructed by police at the port city’s Sholasahar crossing, Idris said.
At one stage, Fakhrul and BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury got out of their vehicles and locked into an altercation with the law enforcers, but they were not allowed to go to the radio station.
At the same time, a group of Chhatra League leaders and activists gathered at the crossing with a procession. Police forced them to leave the area to maintain peace.
Finally, Fakhrul and his party colleagues went to Polo Ground to attend a scheduled public meeting of the BNP.
BNP leader Amir Khosru said they wanted to place wreaths at Kalurghat Radio Station as "Ziaur Rahman proclaimed the country’s independence from there in 1971. It’s a regrettable matter that we’re not allowed to go there.”
Jahidul Kabir, officer-in-charge of Panchlaish police station, said BNP leaders were given permission to pay homage to Biplob Udyan and hold a meeting at Polo Ground, but they did not have permission to go to the radio station.
“So, they have been asked to go to their scheduled programmes to avoid any untoward situation.”
The BNP sought permission from police a few days back to visit the radio station and hold a rally in the city, marking Independence Day. Later, Awami League also announced to hold a rally at the same venue the same day.
Under the circumstances, the police did not give the BNP permission to go to the radio station. However, the party was allowed to hold a rally at Polo Ground.
The BNP has long been claiming that Zia declared the independence of Bangladesh on March 26, to suppress the fact that it was the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who issued the declaration of independence before his arrest in the small hours of March 26.
From the temporary radio station at Kalurghat, two Awami League leaders – MA Hannan and Abul Kashem Swandip – read out the message three times on March 26. The organizers found Zia, then an army major, at Patia on March 27 and requested him to read out the message from the radio station.