Thursday, 1 May, is a government holiday, which will be followed by the two-day weekend on Friday, 2 May, and Saturday, 3 May. Three political parties and organisations announced separate rallies in Dhaka during this period.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is scheduled to hold a rally in the capital’s Nayapaltan at 2:00 pm on Thursday, marking the International Labour Day, reports Prothom Alo.
On the next day, the National Citizen Party (NCP) will hold a rally at the South Gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, pressing a list of demands including trial of Awami League. Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh will hold a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on 3 May, also to press home their various demands including cancellation of the Women Affairs Reform Commission.
BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman will address the party rally as the chief guest, joining the event virtually from London.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other senior leaders will also address the rally.
BNP Standing Committee member and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal chief adviser Nazrul Islam Khan and Sramik Dal chief coordinator Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas are involved in organising this rally.
Leaders, activists and supporters of the party from Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Manikganj, Tangail and neighbouring districts outside Dhaka will join the rally.
Nazrul Islam Khan told Prothom Alo, “We are trying to hold a large rally. We hope you will be present on that day to witness the rally.”
The next day, NCP, led by youths who were in the leadership of the mass uprising last year, will hold a rally at the South Gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque at 3:00 pm. NCP’s Dhaka city unit is organising it.
NCP senior joint convener Ariful Islam Adeeb told Prothom Alo they would press for the trial of Awami League as fascist party, suspension of its political and organising activities, and cancellation of its registration from this event.
He further said they would also demand trial for the killings through enforced disappearance during 15 years of Awami League rule, the 2013 Shapla Chattar killings, the July-August killings, as well as the killings during the movement against Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in 2021.
NCP has been holding party programmes, including demonstration, rally and torch procession, in Dhaka city since 21 April, demanding for the trial of Awami League as fascist party, suspension of its political and organising activities, and cancellation of its registration. Some 10,000-15,000 people may attend the rally, according to NCP joint member secretary Joynal Abedin Shishir.
Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh will hold a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on Saturday. Many are keeping an eye on this event as their organisation has been preparing for a month.
Leaders of the organisation said they called the rally demanding, “Cancellation of Women Affairs Reform Commission along with its anti-Quran and hadith report, reinstatement of absolute faith and believe on Allah, withdrawal of all false cases filed during the fascist rule and an end to massacre and oppression on Muslims in India and Palestine.”
Hefazat’s grand rally implementation committee held a meeting at the Jamia Islamia Makhjanul Ulum Madrasah in the capital’s Khilgaon on Tuesday with its Secretary General Maulana Sazidur Rahman in the chair.
According to the Hefazat leaders, they would mainly raise four demands at the rally. Their prime demand will be the withdrawal of all cases against their leaders because the past Awami League governments tried to control the Hefazat, and they fear the same may happen in the future over those.
Hefazat said their leaders face about 300 cases across the country.
People concerned said Hefazat-e-Islam decided to hold the rally on the weekend as any large gathering on the working day would cause suffering to people.
The organisation, however, aims to create pressure on the government to withdraw the lawsuits against their leaders, as well as to make the political influence of its leaders and activists visible ahead of the next parliamentary election.
