BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday asked the government to decide by October 28 whether it will take a safe exit by quitting power or will get ousted by people.
Speaking at a mammoth rally, he also said they will start an unstoppable journey of their final movement on October 28 by holding a grand rally in the capital.
“There're a few more days ahead. Decide what you will do within the holidays of the (Durga) Puja. Decide whether you’ll resign and take a safe exit with self-respect or will be driven out by the people,” the BNP leader said.
He called upon the government to try to understand the body language of the people and peacefully hand over power to a non-partisan government for the sake of a credible national election.
“You (PM) take the message from this public rally that people no longer want to see you in power. I repeat, step down with dignity by handing over power to a neutral and non-partisan government for conducting the election in a credible manner,” Fakhrul said.
Otherwise, he warned, the people have woken up to ensure the fall of the government.
BNP’s Dhaka south and north city units arranged the rally in front of the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office with the participation of a huge number of leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies.
The rally was meant to mount pressure on the government to accept the party’s one-point demand that includes the resignation of the government and the unconditional release of party chief Khaleda Zia for her treatment abroad.
Fakhrul said that their party will hold a grand rally in Dhaka on October 28 to step up the opposition’s campaign for the resignation of the government and holding the next election under a non-party administration.
“We’ll hold a grand rally in Dhaka on October 28 (Saturday). From this grand rally, a grand journey of our movement will begin,” he said.
Stating that their planned grand rally is a partial programme of the final phase of their movement, Fakhrul hinted that the opposition will announce a series of action programmes on October 28.
“After the grand rally, Inshallah, we won’t stop until the fall of this regime,” he told the opposition supporters.
The BNP leader said the grand rally will be arranged as part of the simultaneous movement. “We--all political parties--who are on the simultaneous movement will make this programme a success."
“It’ll be a peaceful programme. We’ll ensure the fall of this terrorist Awami League regime that has been creating chaos in the country,” he said.
Fakhrul, however, warned the BNP leaders and activists that the government may create many hurdles and obstacles ahead of the grand rally. “But we have to make the rally a success braving all possible odds to move towards our desired goal of establishing the rights of the people."
Fakhrul said the government has been trying to confuse people by carrying out various false campaigns by using social media as it could realise that people are not with it.
He also said the government has also been resorting to various evil tactics sensing its imminent fall. “The people now don’t get confused by the government’s false campaigns.”
The BNP leader said the government has arrested over 250 BNP leaders and activists ahead of the BNP’s rally in fear of losing power.
“The government began to tremble in fear of the people. The more the end of their tenure is approaching, the more they are getting afraid. That’s why more than our 250 leaders and workers have been arrested involving this rally,” he said.
The BNP leader also said their party’s around 96 leaders have already been convicted in different cases ahead of the next national election. “The government is thinking of clearing the field by disqualifying our leaders for the election through sentencing them. How afraid this government is as they’ve taken such measures!”
He said the government could not demoralise the BNP leaders and activists by repressing, arresting and sentencing them.
The BNP leader said it is a fact the government will not be able to suppress people and the movement with repressive acts and arresting and jailing the opposition leaders and activists. “The sooner the government will realise it the better it will be for them to take the safe exit.”
Fakhrul said the government is showing the constitution as an excuse for holding the election under a partisan government after illegally amending the constitution.
He said Awami League talks about the constitution, but it always violates the charter.
The BNP leader said although the President is not in the country, no one has been given his responsibility in line with the constitution. “The country is now without a president as no one has been given the charge in his absence…It’s illegal and unconstitutional. Even, if the government talks about the constitution, it does not follow the main points of the constitution.”
Stating that he went to visit their party chief at Evercare Hospital on Tuesday night, Fakhrul said doctors were worried about her health condition as there was no option left in the country for her treatment.
He said the government is so brutal and inhumane that it is not allowing Khaleda to go abroad for advanced treatment to save her life.
BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas said the current government has become desperate to cling to power by restoring repressive acts as it lost ground beneath its feet.
He said the government arrested many BNP leaders and activists to spread panic among them to prevent them from joining the party’s rally. “But they couldn’t do it. BNP leaders aren’t now afraid of anything as their goal is to oust this regime.”
Referring to Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader’s warning to BNP of facing more dire consequences than Hefajat’s Shapla Chattar rally, Abbas said their party has no plan to abruptly sit in on the streets. “We’ll be there on the streets with our programmes.”
He also said Quader has admitted with his comment that the government carried out massacres and killings at Shapla Chattar during Hefajat’s rally.
Trashing Quader’s threat, the BNP leader said Hefajat and BNP are not the same as their party was in power with the mandate of people through elections.
He said BNP leaders and activists will make their movement a success by removing Awami League from power.
Thousands of leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies rally with processions carrying banners, festoons, placards, and portraits of the party’s top leaders from different parts of Dhaka.
The roads and alleys stretching from Fakirerpool to Bijoynagar were packed with BNP activists, halting traffic in the area. The expanding rally crowd spilled over onto nearby streets and spaces.
Apart from BNP, like-minded political parties and alliances also held separate rallies in different city areas to press home the one-point demand.
A large number of members of law enforcement agencies were deployed in the Nayapaltan area to maintain law and order.
