The opposition BNP held marches in Dhaka’s Gulshan and Uttara areas on Thursday morning, led by Senior Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, during a hartal called to protest the schedule for the upcoming general election.
Several leaders of the party and its affiliates, including BNP Health Secretary Dr Md Rafiqul Islam, were present at the marches, with many senior leaders, such as Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam, in custody.
Meanwhile, Swechasebak Dal, the volunteer wing of the BNP, held a protest march in Motijheel, where leaders and activists of the organization chanted slogans demanding the resignation of the government.
The hartal, set to end at 6pm, is meant to register the opposition of the BNP and its like-minded parties to the election schedule.
They have been enforcing a series of blockades and hartals to mount pressure on the government to quit, hold the next election under a non-party neutral government, and release opposition leaders and activists, including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
