The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir asked the leaders and activists of the party on Saturday to be ready for a tough time in the movement to oust the government.
He made this call at a brief rally in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office after a mass procession in the capital.
Dhaka city’s north and south units of the BNP brought mass processions from different places in the capital to realise their one-point demand for the resignation of the Awami League government.
The north city unit’s procession started from Rampura, and the south city’s one started from Kamalapur and ended at Naya Paltan.
The processions turned into a huge rally as thousands of BNP leaders and activists participated in the processions.
Senior leaders of the party addressed the gathering one by one.
It started drizzling as chief guest Fakhrul began his speech, but the rain-drenched party activists defied the weather to hear his speech.
‘Standing in the rain, you are getting wet and suffering. There will be more trouble ahead. Through this, this government should be defeated and a people’s government should be established,’ Fakhrul said.
He said that the procession in the sun and rain proved that the people of this country no longer wanted to see Sheikh Hasina’s government in power.
‘This government is doing all sorts of unethical things to stay in power. This government does not have the power to stop the voices raised by the people against it today,’ he said.
Alleging that the government was plotting to destroy the movement, Fakhrul advised leaders and activists to be careful.
‘Many are plotting. The Awami League will try to blame the opposition party. Everyone should be careful. Everyone must defeat this terrible government with courage and strength. No matter how many conspiracies there are, this government must be defeated through a united movement,’ he said.
Along with the BNP, some other political parties, including the Ganatantra Mancha, also held identical programmes in the capital.
