BNP calls 5th spell of 48-hr blockade from Wednesday

After giving a pause for a day, the BNP and like-minded parties will again enforce a 48-hour countrywide road-rail-waterway blockade beginning from Wednesday to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit power and hold the next election under a non-partisan administration.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the programme at a virtual press briefing on Monday afternoon.

He said the other opposition parties, who have long been carrying out the simultaneous movement with BNP, also observe a similar programme.

Rizvi said the blockade programme will be observed from 6am Wednesday to 6am Friday across the country. It will be the fifth phase of the blockade programme of the opposition parties.

The BNP leader said their ongoing blockade was successful with the spontaneous support of the country’s people.

He thanked the leaders and activists of BNP and like-minded parties to make the blockade programme a success.

The fresh agitation was announced around 14 hours before the end of the opposition’s 48-hour nationwide blockade that was enforced at 6am on Sunday. The ongoing blockade has been marked by widespread incidents of violence, including torching and vandalising vehicles.

BNP and other opposition parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, have been enforcing blockades across the country in fourth phases since Oct 31.

They also observed a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on Oct 29 in protest against the attacks on BNP’s grand rally at Nayapaltan that ended amid the incidents of torching vehicles and clashes, leaving three people dead.

Half an hour into the start of BNP‍‍`s much-talked-about grand rally at Nayapaltan on October 28, BNP leaders and workers locked in a clash with the ruling party activists and police at Kakrail. Soon violent clashes spread around Nayapaltan, foiling the rally midway.