Referring to the threat issued by the BNP, ruling Awami League (AL) Joint General Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak yesterday said they would see how the BNP supporters hinder the 14-party rally scheduled for January 6 at the Central Shaheed Minar.
“We do not want to prevent anyone from observing democratic programmes. But if anyone tries to hinder ours, we will see how they can do so. We want to see how the BNP obstructs our programmes,” Nanak told reporters at the party chief’s Dhanmondi political office.
The press conference was arranged to inform media about the AL’s reaction on the country’s recent political situation.
BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday said if the BNP was barred from holding a rally, then the Awami League would not be allowed to hold one smoothly.
His statement came after the party’s Gazipur rally had been stopped by the district administration issuing a ban on public gathering. Ruling party-backed Chhatra League announced a rally at the same place simultaneously.
Earlier, Chhatra League threatened that they would not allow BNP chief Khaleda Zia to hold any rally in the district until her elder son and party’s Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman apologised for his recent comments made about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Protesting the ban, BNP later called day-long hartal in Gazipur for Saturday.
Nanak yesterday claimed that those hurt by the remarks of the BNP chief’s son had foiled the Gazipur rally, not the Awami League.
Asked if the AL was not hurt by Tarique’s statement, Nanak said: “The Awami League is certainly hurt by the statement. We called a press conference to condemn it as well.”
Regarding yesterday’s hartal called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance, the former LGRD state minister said: “The main policy of BNP-Jamaat is to kill people. They are killing ordinary people by attacking with petrol bombs in the name of a shut down.”
Nanak claimed that the hartal was called only to foil the trials of Khaleda, Tarique and the war criminals. “The people have understood BNP’s plans, and therefore, they rejected their hartal.”
The Dhaka City unit Awami League and its associate organisations also demonstrated protesting the hartal.
