Govt never foils peaceful prog: Home Minister

Mentioning that the government never obstructs any peaceful programme, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan today said law enforcers take necessary steps if anyone intensifies people's sufferings doing excesses.

"It was necessary to free the area to ease people's sufferings," he said about police foiling the black flag demonstration programme of BNP in front of its Nayapaltan central office in the capital.

After a meeting of the law and order coordination committee in Barura upazila parishad auditorium, the minister was replying to queries from reporters about BNP's allegation that police foiled its procession.

Earlier in the morning, police dispersed BNP's black flag demonstration programme in front of its Nayapaltan central office protesting the denial of permission to hold a rally in Dhaka.

When BNP leaders and activists tried to gather in front of their central office at 9:30am, police chased them and arrested 20.

They also damaged a makeshift stage built in front of the party office to stage their protests.

Prof Ali Ashraf, MP, Prof Nurul Islam Milon, MP, DIG of Chittagong Range Dr Moniruzzaman, Deputy Commissioner of the district Jahangir Alam and Police Superintendent Shah Md Abid Hossain attended the meeting.