BNP leaders have said that the government is arresting strong leaders of the party in a bid to spread fear and scupper the one-point movement, but that the fear tactic will not work.
Members of the BNP top brass told Dhaka Tribune that the BNP’s affiliated organizations, such as Jubo Dal, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Krishak Dal, Swechasebak Dal, Tanti Dal and Mohila Dal, are the main strengths of the party in a street movement.
Powerful leaders of these wings are being targeted for arrest, they said.
BNP Metropolitan South convener Abdus Salam said: “Back-to-back arrests are spreading fear among our party activists. A fear culture has gripped everyone, there is no doubt. This is a targeted plan to bring down our one-point demand movement. The government has tried to break our legs.”
He said the government is on a mission to eliminate the leaders and workers of these organizations.
“But they do not know that we are not afraid of these things. Our workers will be in the field, they will not be afraid of anything,” Salam added.
The BNP alleged that six Chhatra Dal leaders were picked up by plainclothes men on Friday, and Dhaka Metropolitan Police later said the arrested leaders had firearms and were under the orders of BNP central leaders to create an unstable situation in the country ahead of the national election.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said: “Arresting Chhatra Dal leaders is a new plot ahead of the polls. The government is once again using cases and arrests as weapons against BNP leaders and activists.
“The government has all the weapons, the police, all the powers of the state, and they can stage any drama they want,” he added.
Twelve other BNP leaders and activists, including Dhaka South city unit BNP Acting Member Secretary Tanveer Ahmed Robin, the son of BNP leader Salahuddin, were also arrested.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the members of the Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested him at around 12:30am when he came out of the party’s Naya Paltan central office on Sunday.
In response to a question on whether the ongoing movement would slow down due to the fear of arrests, senior leaders said the movement is a struggle for the people and would only become stronger.
Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal General Secretary Shahidul Islam Babul alleged that BNP leaders and activists were arrested, obstructed, and attacked on their way to the party's rally at Naya Paltan in July. According to the BNP, over 500 leaders and activists were arrested in Dhaka ahead of the grand rally.
Swechasebak Dal Vice President Saiful Islam Firoz said: “Leaders from outside Dhaka are facing obstruction when trying to join the movement. Leaders based in Dhaka are being targeted and arrested. The workers of the party have run away from home. There is fear all around. If we cannot stand in the field, then it will be challenging for us to join the movement.”
The BNP leader said the more the government obstructs and the more it goes for arrests, the more resentment and determination will be created among the BNP leaders and workers about making the rally more successful.
BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said: “The government is planning to do something terrible in the country, to completely wipe out the opposition in the elections. They want to hold another election as they have done in the past.”
Leaders and activists of the BNP are being arrested at the district level every day, and cases are being filed against leaders who may be eligible candidates in the elections, according to the BNP’s senior leaders.
