‘BNP’s decision on AL council right’

The BNP today said the party did not attend the ruling Awami League's 20th National Council as there is no “democratic atmosphere in the country”.

“The AL government is carrying out oppression and filing false cases against the BNP leaders and activists across the country. The government is also carrying out propaganda against BNP all the time and under this atmosphere the BNP didn’t attend AL council which was right,” said Rizvi Ahmed, senior joint secretary general of BNP, at a press conference in the party’s Nayapaltan head office in Dhaka.

The BNP yesterday backtracked on its decision to attend the ruling AL national council being held at the city's Suhrawardy Udyan.

Alleging that many of their leaders were killed and scores injured at the hands of the AL men, the BNP high-ups decided to refrain from attending the council, insiders said.

Leaders of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Rob, Bangladesh National Alliance, National Awami Party, Gonotantri Party and Communist Kendra who are not components in the AL-led 14-party alliance, however, went to the council.