BNP prepares for hartal series

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia last night instructed senior leaders of the party to get prepared for a non-stop hartal “if the government does not release" abducted BNP leader M Ilias Ali.
She gave the instruction during talks with party colleagues at her Gulshan office.
“Madam [Khaleda Zia] asked us to remain active during tomorrow's [today's] hartal,” acting secretary general of BNP Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told The Daily Star after the talks.
The BNP spokesperson also said the leader of the opposition in parliament also told party leaders to prepare for a tougher movement against the government if their demands are not met.
BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Nazrul Islam Khan, and Convener of Dhaka City Unit of the party Sadeque Hossain Khoka, among others, were present at the talks.
Meanwhile, acting BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged the government had “abducted” Ilias to divert people's attention from the recent Tk 70 lakh scandal.
“The government has abducted our leader Ilias Ali at a time when it is taking flak from people following the seizure of a huge amount of bribe money from the assistant personal secretary of former railway minister Suranjit Sengupta,” he said at a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital.
The party's Lalbagh unit organised the discussion to protest the “forced disappearance” of Ilias Ali, BNP organising secretary (Sylhet Division).
The government attracted strong criticism from people after Suranjit was made minister without portfolio following his resignation as railway minister, said the BNP leader.
Fakhrul said the ruling party has resorted to “abduction and secret killings” to eliminate its political opponents. He called upon party leaders to wage tougher movement against the government.
He also criticised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's comment on Ilias Ali's disappearance. “She [Hasina] has termed the disappearance a drama. The indication is clear: she has turned into a dreaded force.”
He also urged opposition leaders and activists to get prepared for observing today's hartal.