BNP‍‍`s entire movement set to boil down to one point through huge rally in capital

The BNP and like-minded political parties are all set to jointly announce a ‘one-point‍‍` simultaneous movement for the resignation of the current regime with a view to holding the next national election under a neutral government through separate rallies in the capital on Wednesday.

BNP is scheduled to hold a public rally in front of its Nayapaltan central office at 2pm from where party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will announce the programmes to kick off their one-point movement.

Ganatantra Mancha, a platform of six parties that shares the BNP‍‍`s view that the government must resign ahead of elections, or otherwise be toppled through a movement, will announce their participation in the one-point movement at 4pm by holding a meeting at the Jatiya Press Club.

A separate 12-party alliance that similarly believes no fair election can be held under the Awami League-led government will come up with a similar announcement from a rally in front of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) at 12pm. The same is expected of the Jatiyatabadi Samomona Jote at Bijoynagar, the Liberal Democratic Party at Tejgaon and Gonoforum and People’s Party at Motijheel and Labour Party at Nayapaltan at different times on the day.

Besides, two splinter groups of the Gono Odhikar Parishad (one led by Reza Kibria and the other by Nurul Haque Nur), Gonotantrik Bam Oikya, Samomona Gonotantrik Peshajibi Jote and Sadaran Chhatra Odhikar Sanrakshan Parishad will also hold rallies in front of the Jatiya Press Club around 3pm and announce the their participation in the one-point movement.

BNP has held separate meetings with each of these parties and alliances and finalised their next course of action. The party‍‍`s Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said BNP and other parties involved with the simultaneous movement will make a joint announcement of the one-point movement from their respective positions.

"We think the nation will be optimistic and encouraged through such a declaration. It’ll also help intensify the movement to ensure the fall of the current regime,” he said.

From conversations with the leaders of the BNP and many of the smaller parties, it is expected that the joint declaration of the one-point movement will contain the demand for the resignation of the Awami League government, dissolution of parliament, formation of the polls-time impartial government and reconstitution of the Election Commission for arranging a free, fair and inclusive election.

The unconditional release of all political prisoners, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, withdrawal of all ghost cases, and annulment of all false convictions towards building a democratic state and restoring the voting rights of the people through amendments to the constitution and reforming the state system will also find a place in the rhetoric, but the realisation of these will all be boiled down to a single overriding objective: that the next parliamentary elections be held under a neutral, non-party, in effect caretaker government. 

Earlier in a programme on Monday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said their party and its alliance partners are going to announce the final action programmes of their current anti-government movement on Wednesday.

"We all the parties involved in the simultaneous movement have decided to announce a new journey for the restoration of democracy and holding a fair and impartial election from our respective places on July 12,” Fakhrul said.

BNP and its different associate bodies have taken various steps to ensure the huge presence of the party leaders and activists to demonstrate a massive showdown before the one-point movement.

Following up on the oral ‍‍`permission‍‍` it gave the BNP to hold the rally at their chosen venue two days ahead of time, on Tuesday the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)  issued separate notices not only confirming the go-ahead to the BNP‍‍`s rally at Nayapaltan, but also for the Awami League to hold a ‍‍`peace rally‍‍` not very far away at the Baitul Mokarram South Gate.

BNP Dhaka  North City unit convener Aman Ullah Aman said their rally will be completely peaceful and they have taken all-out preparations to make it a success.

"We hope our rally will turn into a human sea with the participation of a huge number of people from all walks of life. We believe that the people of Dhaka will take to the streets with their demands,” he said.

Aman said they have formed many volunteer teams to hold the rally peacefully. “We have also sent a letter to Dhaka Metropolitan Police seeking cooperation.”

Earlier at a public rally on December 10 last in the capital‍‍`s Golapbagh field, the BNP had announced a 10-point charter of demands including the resignation of the government, the dissolution of parliament, and the transfer of power to a non-partisan government.

BNP and its like-minded parties observed various programmes, including human chains, sits-in, road marches and rallies across the country, over the last seven months since the announcement of the 10-point movement, which itself came at the end of a programme of divisional rallies that started in August, and drew a huge response.