BNP hopes for post council turnaround

BNP yesterday hoped that the party would be able to make a turnaround by holding its forthcoming sixth national council.

"You have seen many BNP leaders and activists are now gathering at our Nayapaltan and chairperson's offices with a fresh zeal ahead of the council," BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters at the party's Nayapaltan headquarters in the capital.

On getting the approval from the authorities concerned to hold the council at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital on March 19, he said, "Our preference is for Bangabandhu International Conference Centre as it has a huge space to accommodate our nearly three thousand councillors. But, we still haven't got any response from the authorities," adding that the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh was their last option as the venue.

Alleging that their party had been facing serious obstacles from the administration to holding their district and upazila unit councils, he said, "We couldn't hold the councils at open spaces in many areas."

He sought cooperation from the government so that they could successfully hold the council to improve the country's democratic atmosphere.

About the government he said, "I said before that we were being persecuted. Amardesh Editor Mahmudur Rahman was also persecuted similarly. Tomorrow someone else will be the victim. It has become fascistic. Today The Daily Star has been targeted, cases have also been filed against it. It means one after another everyone will be targeted, none will be spared."