20-party calls hartal for Monday
20-party calls hartal for Monday
Pickets vandalise 2 human haulers in Gazipur
The BNP-led 20-party alliance has called a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal for Monday protesting arrest of the party leaders including Goyeshwar Chandra Roy and the restrictions on its rally in Gazipur scheduled for today.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir came up with the announcement after a secretary general level meeting of the opposition alliance at BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in Dhaka this afternoon.
“We are going enforce the hartal as the government did not allow us to hold our rally in Gazipur,” he said adding that the authorities also are not allowing them to organise any programmes across the country.
GAZIPUR HARTAL
Meanwhile, pickets vandalised two CNG-run human haulers in the district during their daylong shutdown enforced by the alliance protesting the ban on the party chief Khaleda Zia's rally scheduled to be held in the district today.
Meanwhile, police also detained six pro-BNP activists from different parts in Kaliakoir upazila early today on charge of hatching conspiracy for carrying out sabotage activities during the strike, reports our Gazipur correspondent.
The hartal supporters vandalised the human haulers, locally known as Leguna, at Bariderchala of Sreepur upazila around 8:30am after police dispersed their procession in the area.
Additional police have been deployed at the all key points in the district. Five platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), a paramilitary force, also joined them to maintain law and order, said Harun-ur-Rashid, superintendent of Gazipur police.
Public transportation was seen plying city streets in the morning though the traffic appeared shallower than the usual days. Trains were operating normally.
After the alliance announced today’s harta’ yesterday, BNP’s Tongi unit office was set on fire in Gazipur.
Though local unit BNP claimed that the government-backed goons carried out the attack. But Tongi police did not confirm who launched the attack.
Amid growing political tension and Chhatra League's threat to resist Khaleda Zia's rally at the Bhawal Badre Alam College ground today, the administration yesterday imposed the section 144 on the venue and adjacent areas prohibiting all political gatherings.
In protest at the ban, the BNP announced to observe a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Gazipur and hold countrywide demonstrations today.
The decision was made at an emergency meeting BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had with standing committee members, other senior leaders and representatives of Gazipur district unit at her Gulshan office last night.
The slapping of the section 144 also prompted Chhatra League to postpone a rally it decided to hold at the college ground today apparently to foil Khaleda's programme.
The BNP-led 20-party alliance last week planned the Gazipur rally to drum up public support for a fresh anti-government movement demanding general elections under a non-party administration.