Five out of seven BNP lawmakers submitted resignation letters to Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Sunday, a day after they announced it at the party's Dhaka rally.
The move came as part of the party's 10-point charter for demands, aimed at intensifying its anti-government movement through a series of demonstrations.
Meanwhile, a dozen of the party's top leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, remained behind bars till on Sunday with their bail petitions pending with a Dhaka court.
On the other hand, the Naya Paltan central office of the BNP was reopened on Sunday, four days after the closure. Police restricted entry to the office after recovering explosives following a clash on December 7.
Some BNP leaders, led by Organizing Secretary Syed Emran Saleh Prince, went to the office around 1pm and entered the office with some lawyers and journalists around 1:15pm.
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After inspecting the premises, Prince told reporters that the police had vandalized the furniture and valuables of the office. They also seized computers and other equipment.
"We will prepare a list of the damaged goods," he was quoted as saying by UNB.
By-polls in time
Elections to the five constituencies that fell vacant after five BNP lawmakers resigned on Sunday will be held within 90 days as per the Constitution.
Election Commissioner Md Alamgir made the remark while speaking to reporters at his office in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Sunday.
The MPs who resigned are Md Zahidur Rah from Thakurgaon-3, Md Mosharrof Hossain from Bogra-4, Gulam Mohammad Siraj from Bogra-6, Md Aminul Islam from Chapainawabganj-2 and Rumeen Farhana, from women's reserved seats.
The two others are Md Harunur Rashid of Chapainawabganj-3, who is now in Australia, and ailing MP of Brahmanbaria-2 Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan. They will have to submit resignations in person as per the Constitution.
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Later, the speaker told reporters there is no constitutional obligation to submit resignation letters in person. “Now the Parliament Secretariat will scrutinize the letters of the two MPs and decide on them later.”
About Harunur Rashid's resignation, the speaker said that he would have to submit it again due to some technicalities.
“Harun has resigned through email, and his signature was included in the letter through scanning, which is unacceptable. He'll have to sign the letter by himself and send it again,” Dr Shirin said.
The Speaker added that the Parliament Secretariat will soon issue a notification declaring the seats of the resigned MPs vacant.
Fakhrul's bail hearing on Monday
A Dhaka court is set to hold a hearing on the bail petitions of seven top BNP leaders, including Mirza Fakhrul, and Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas in a case over the clash between the police and the party activists on December 7 that left one dead and 20 others injured.
Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rezaul Karim Chowdhury passed the order when their counsels sought bail.
The remaining five who sought bail are BNP's Dhaka south city unit convener Abdus Salam, Publication Secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, Joint Secretary Khairul Kabir Khokon, former organizing secretary Fazlul Haque Milon and party leader Selim Reza Habib.
Another Dhaka court on Sunday sent 23 leaders and workers of the BNP, including Dhaka district unit President Khandakar Abu Ashfaq, to jail in connection with two separate cases lodged under the Explosive Substances Act with Paltan and Motijheel police stations.
As the accused were produced before the court in the morning, the police asked the court to keep them in jail until the investigation was over.
Special drive continues
Meanwhile, law enforcers detained 307 persons, including 76 BNP men, from different areas of the capital in the 24 hours till Sunday evening as part of a drive that began on the first of December.
The Police Headquarters issued an instruction in this regard on December 1, saying that the drive was aimed at maintaining law and order ahead of some important programs in December.
