Amid criticism by the ruling party that its movement has no people’s involvement, the BNP-led 20-party alliance has worked out a new strategy to stage frequent showdowns across the country by holding rallies, processions, and demonstrations alongside the ongoing hartal and blockade.
The alliance leaders said it is now necessary to include new action programmes with the hartal and blockade to bring their leaders and activists on the streets in a bid to mount pressure on the government to concede to their demand for a fresh inclusive election.
They think the government is thinking of holding Dhaka City Corporations polls as part of its plot to derail their movement. “So we want to intensify the movement further with public participation, ignoring the DCC polls issue,” a BNP leader told UNB, seeking anonymity.
He said the 20-party alliance also wants a positive outcome of their ongoing movement before the government goes for the DCC polls.
The alliance has already declared it will stage demonstrations across the country today, and will hold such programmes every week to mobilise their activists on the streets.
The alliance is also likely to announce countrywide demonstrations tomorrow and the day after.
A BNP leader close to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said she has already sent out a message to the top leaders of her party, its associate bodies and alliance partners, to observe street demonstrations and protest rallies on various issues every week, to prove their movement has the people’s involvement, and thus boost the morale of the party’s grassroots leaders and activists.
The BNP leader said if the government tries to resist their street programmes, and intensify its repression and arrest of opposition activists, it will help justify their allegation that the government has shut all democratic spaces, and snatched all democratic rights of the people.
“The country is now going through a serious democratic crisis. People want the government to create a congenial atmosphere for holding a fresh election through talks. But the government is now hatching a conspiracy to hold the DCC polls, ignoring the people’s hopes and aspirations,” BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman told the news agency.
Mentioning that the DCC polls are nothing but a government trap, he said they would not fall into it. “We will rather toughen the movement further.”
“We are now thinking of bringing a new dimension to our movement, with more action programmes alongside the hartal and blockade so that our leaders and activists become more active and don’t get frustrated,” Mahbub said.
BNP Publicity Affairs Secretary Zainul Abedin Farroque said the government should have engaged in talks to resolve the political crisis amid their current movement for the sake of democracy, the nation, and its people.
“Now we have no option but to intensify our movement further. Our justified movement has the support of the majority of the country’s people, as well as the international community, seeking an inclusive election,” he said.
Asked why their party men are not seen on the streets during hartal and blockade programmes, he said the law enforcers fire shots and launch attacks whenever the opposition men try to stage a peaceful procession. “Despite that, the opposition activists are taking to the streets across the country. Our policymakers are also thinking of organising some new programmes so that party activists’ presence on the streets is increased.”
A top leader of the alliance, requesting anonymity, said they will strengthen street picketing, mainly in Dhaka city, during the hartal and blockade from this week.
He said the alliance leaders and activists will also try to stage demonstrations and hold processions at different wards of the city every day on different issues and in support of the hartal and blockade.
Another BNP policymaker, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said they are also thinking of staging big showdowns at their strongholds outside the capital to shift the government’s focus from the capital to other divisions and districts.
He said they are planning to hold public rallies in different districts. “We know holding a rally now is very difficult, as our leaders cannot move freely in their areas to organise such a programme, while there is no respite in arrests and repressive acts. But some of our leaders have been given responsibility to work on it.”
