The government wants to put BNP leaders in jail under false cases so it can win the polls easily, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged on Saturday.
“They have jailed BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, and Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman in false cases,” he said while speaking as the chief guest at Comilla mass rally at Comilla Town Hall ground.
“This rally is calling for Khaleda Zia's release, withdrawing the false cases against Tarique Rahman and 3.5 million other people. I say this with a heavy heart, our brothers, and our sons were killed by the government for no reason. The entire Bangladesh mourns for them,” he added.
The BNP senior leader also alleged that the people of Bangladesh want to overthrow the "undemocratic" government.
Speaking at the huge public rally, he also equivocally said no election will be held in Bangladesh as long as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina steps down by handing over power to a non-party caretaker government.
“This regime has not kept anything unharmed. We don't get justice now. They file false, fabricated, and fictitious cases against us and convict us. Our all senior leaders have been facing 10-60 cases,” the BNP leader said.
Mirza Fakhrul also added that the government has increased the prices for electricity again, without increasing salaries for anyone.
“It is impossible to think of anything that has not had its price raised recently,” he added.
Unlike the party's previous such rallies in other divisions, BNP leaders and followers faced fewer hassles in Comilla to join the program as no transport strike has been enforced here.
Thousands of leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies joined the rally in Comilla amid relative ease with no transport strike this time.
The rally venue was teeming with the opposition leaders and activists since morning as they gathered there from the different upazilas of Comilla and its adjoining districts, including Brahmanbaria and Chandpur.
This rally was the eighth one by the BNP at the divisional level after 7 others were held in Chattogram, Mymensingh, Khulna, Rangpur, Barisal, Faridpur, and Sylhet.
BNP activists were seen coming to the rally venue in processions chanting various anti-government slogans since early morning.
An adequate number of police and security officials have been deployed around the rally venue and at different points of the town to prevent any untoward incident.
The organizers said the rally was meant to denounce the price hike of daily essentials and fuel, the death of five party activists in police action in Bhola, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Brahmanbaria, and Jessore, and to ensure the freedom of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.