AL mulls hartal to slate fuel price hike

The main opposition Awami League yesterday decided to enforce a dawn-to-dusk countrywide hartal in protest at the fuel-price hike.

But the AL presidium meeting could not fix a date for the hartal as the party leaders were discussing the issue with "like-minded political parties".

"In principle, we have decided to go for hartal in protest at the abnor- mal price hike of fuels and will announce the date within a day or two," AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil told newsmen at the party's central office on the Bangabandhu Avenue in the city.

A senior presidium member, however, told The Daily Star that the hartal would be enforced on January 11.

The presidium meeting at the party's Dhanmondi office, chaired by former foreign minister Abdus Samad Azad in absence of an indisposed Sheikh Hasina, also decided to observe a countrywide demonstration day today, Jalil said.

The main opposition will also hold issue-based discussion with progressive political parties for greater unity and a strong movement "against the atrocities of the government", he said.

The newly elected AL general secretary termed the price hike illogical, as the price "did not increase on the international market".

Public life is already "miserable for misrule and torture" while prices of essentials have gone beyond the reach of the commoners, he said. "The fuel-price hike will add to the sufferings of the people and cause further price hike of everything in a cascading effect."

The presidium meeting was also decided that Hasina would lead members of the newly elected central committee to a visit to Tungipara on January 10 and offer fateha at Bangabandhu's grave.

January 10 will be observed as the day commemorating Bangabandhu's return to independent Bangladesh in 1972 upon his release from jail in Pakistan.