Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), an associate body of the ruling party Awami League, is set to hold the biggest student gathering at Suhrawardy Udyan on Friday.
Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will give a message to the countrymen at this rally.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has taken foolproof security measures for the BCL rally. DMP Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq visited Suhrawardy Udyan and inspected the security arrangements taken for the peaceful holding of the rally on Thursday.
Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to attend the rally at 3pm.
Ruling party insiders said the program is a big challenge for the new President and General Secretary of the Chhatra League, as this is the first time they are going to hold such a mammoth program at a large place like Suhrawardy Uddyan.
Though this program is arranged in memory of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Raman and Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib to mark the Month of Mourning in August, the Chhatra League changed the date considering the suffering of the HSC examinees.
On the same day, the BNP will celebrate its founding anniversary and hold a mass procession at Naya Paltan in the capital.
Saddam Hossain and Sheikh Wali Asif Inan were chosen as the president and general secretary of the Chhatra League in December last year. The full committee was announced in July.
They held a press conference to inform the media of the latest preparations for the rally on Thursday afternoon. At this time, they said that they had taken various initiatives to make the rally a success.
This will be challenging for Saddam and Inan to hold a large gathering by accommodating students and activists from every quarter of the country, said the party insiders.
Since they have not constituted any district units so far, they have to rely on the current leaders, who were chosen by the previous committee leaders.
Last month, three associate bodies of the Awami League—Jubo League, Swechchhasebak League, and Chhatra League—jointly arranged a large rally in the capital to counter the BNP’s rally, which also witnessed a large crowd.
Earlier, the Dhaka City AL units tried to arrange some large rallies in the city but failed to satisfy its central leaders.
Therefore, arranging a big rally alone this time is a challenging job for the Chhatra League, said the insiders.
Saddam and Inan both served the Dhaka University unit of BCL previously; Saddam was the general secretary of the unit, while Inan was the president of a hall unit.
However, to make this program successful, the Chhatra League has formed 18 sub-committees to make this program a success in a coordinated manner.
According to the transport sub-committee, they have arranged 7,500 buses, 50 launches, and 12 trains to carry its leaders and activists across the country.
In addition, the respective units of Dhaka and nearby will join the rally with their activists at Suhrawardy Uddyan in the morning.
At the press conference on Thursday, Chhatra League President Saddam said: "Friday's student rally will bring an incredible change in political history. Through this gathering, we want to send a message to Bangladesh that we will remain strong in the spirit of the Liberation War and the ideals of the Father of the Nation.
"At the same time, there is no place in student society to compromise with murderers, terrorists, and militants. We will hold this rally to express the love and deep feelings that all the students of this country have for Sheikh Hasina."
He hoped that the gathering would draw a larger number of people who were not affiliated with politics. "They will come for their love for Sheikh Hasina and the deep feeling of compassion for the spirit of the Liberation War."
General Secretary Inan said: "There is no alternative to Sheikh Hasina and ‘Boat’ in the upcoming elections to build a Smart Bangladesh."
He added that they would take an open oath with half a million students at the gathering to stop any evil forces working against the country.
