Awami League
Quarter-final with BNP over, now time for semi-final: Quader
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said that it is impossible for BNP to come to power by “burning people to death”.
“It is not possible to come to power or earn the trust of people by burning them to death. BNP has been known for its terrorist activities or looting,” he said.
Quader, also Road Transport and Bridges Minister, came up with the remark while addressing the Chuadanga district Awami League Council at the town football ground in the district town.
Read more: Resignation of BNP MPs is a wrong step: Obaidul Quader
Quarter-final with BNP is over, now semi-final will be held, and the final game will be held during the national election, said Quader.
Referring to the forex reserve issue, the Awami League leader said Tarique Rahman remained absconding after looting money from the country and sending it abroad. “How can they talk about the forex reserves? The country has sufficient reserves,” he assured.
Read more: BNP 'half-defeated' through holding rally at Golapbagh: Obaidul Quader
After seven years, the triennial conference of Chuadanga district Awami League is being held today (Monday) at the town football ground of the district with more than 50,000 people joining it.
Awami League presidium member Kazi Zafar Ullah announced the opening of the council around 11 am while Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader was present as chief guest joining the event virtually.
2 motorbikes burnt in Dhaka’s Mugda as AL, BNP activists chase, counter-chase each other
Two motorcycles were burnt as Awami League and BNP activists chased and counter-chased each other in Dhaka’s Mugda area, centering BNP’s rally at Golapbagh field today.
The incident took place around afternoon near Mugda General Hospital.
Locals and police confirmed two motorcycles, reportedly owned by Jubo Dal activists, were torched by ruling party activists during the altercation.
Defying all obstacles, BNP leaders and activists thronged the Golapbagh rally venue this morning as the much-anticipated divisional rally began around 11 am.
Read more: BNP announces simultaneous, anti-govt movement with 10 point-demand from Dhaka rally
Alongside, law enforcement agencies, activists of Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League were also seen taking position on city streets to prevent what they said “any sabotage activities” by BNP men.
BNP supporters were seen heading towards the rally venue on foot as public transport remained off the streets from this morning.
AL ready to tackle anarchy: Obaidul Quader
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday asked his party leaders and activists to remain vigilant about the possible anarchy by the BNP ahead of Saturday’s anti-government rally.
He came up with the remark as chief guest while addressing a rally organised by Dhaka south unit AL in protest against the anarchy in the city.
Quader, also road, transport and bridges minister, said there was nothing to be panicked about on Saturday.
“We are in power, why should we want any unrest and disorder,” he asked.
“The BNP will eat up the whole country once they come to office, (but) they won’t be given the chance”, Quader said.
The AL general secretary also warned that the BNP will face dire consequence if they try to create chaos in the name of movement.
Read more: Don't undermine US-Bangla friendship with comments on local politcs: Quader asks US envoy
He warned against any attempt to carry sticks during Saturday’s rally.
Addressing diplomats in Dhaka, the minister asked the representatives of foreign countries not to take any side.
“We know how to protect democracy,” he said.
Quader said that some media outlets have stepped in to bring the BNP in power, and they will get a timely reply for this.
Read more: People are afraid of BNP’s Dec 10 rally: Obaidul Quader
With Dhaka south unit AL President Abu Ahmed Mannafi in the chair, presidium members Dr Abdur Razzak, Shahjahan Khan, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman, among others, addressed the rally.
BNP set to hold rally in Dhaka to start simultaneous anti-govt movement
Amid various speculations, political tension and the arrest of a huge number of party leaders and activists, BNP is set to hold its last divisional rally in the capital on Saturday to deliver its messages for a simultaneous anti-government movement in the run up to the next general election.
The rally that will be arranged by Dhaka south and north city units of BNP in Golapbagh field near Sayedabad is scheduled to formally begin at 11:00 am.
Though the party formally got permission to organise the rally there around 3pm on Friday, the Golapbagh ground has been teeming with BNP activists and followers by Friday evening as they reached the venue in advance with huge enthusiasm.
Read: Mirza Fakhrul, Abbas shown arrested in Paltan police station case: DB Chief
BNP senior leaders, including the standing committee members, will address the rally.
As party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was sent to jail, BNP’s senior-most standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain is likely to address the rally as chief guest and announce the next course of action.
The government and BNP came to an understanding over the rally after an opposition activist was killed in a clash at Nayapaltan that ultimately resulted in the arrest of over 450 party leaders and workers, including its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul and standing committee member Mirza Abbas.
As part of the move to continue the pace of its ongoing movement, the BNP on September 27 announced a series of public rallies in 10 divisional cities to denounce the price hike of daily essentials and fuels, the death of five party men in previous police action in Bhola, Narayanganj, Munshiganj and Jashore, and to ensure the freedom of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
The party has already arranged rallies in Chattogram, Mymensingh, Khulna, Rangpur, Barishal, Faridpur, Sylhet, Cumilla and Rajshahi braving various obstacles and transport strikes.
BNP has long been demanding that the next general election be held under a caretaker government, not under any political government — a demand sharply rejected by the ruling Awami League as the constitution does not allow it to happen.
Read: Crowds converging on Golapbagh field for Saturday’s BNP rally
The party is going to conclude the divisional rallies through a mass gathering in Dhaka city tomorrow (Saturday) which coincides with International Human Rights Day.
BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain at a press conference called upon the Dhaka city dwellers to spontaneously join their party’s rally on Golapbagh ground peacefully to give the government a befitting reply to its efforts to foil a democratic programme.
“We will hold the programme in Dhaka peacefully as we did in nine other divisional cities. We call upon people from all walks of life to participate in our programme spontaneously,” said Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a former cabinet minister and the most senior member of the BNP's standing committee.
10-point demand to be announced
Mosharraf said from their rally, they will announce a 10-point demand for ensuring the fall of the Awami League government.
Don’t allow arsonists, anti-liberation forces to assume power: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday asked the people not to allow the arson terrorists and anti-liberation forces to return to power.
"The arson terrorists should not be allowed to come in power in the country anymore. The anti-liberation elements should not be allowed to come to office," she said.
The PM was addressing a joint meeting of Awami League and its associate bodies at the AL central office in the city's Bangabandhu Avenue through a virtual platform from her official residence Ganabhaban.
Read more: 50 sued over torching, vandalizing vehicles in Ctg
Hasina, also the AL president, asked her party leaders to remain alert in every area so that they (BNP-Jamaat) cannot torture anyone.
Bitterly criticising BNP, she said that it does not suit BNP to talk about democracy as Ziaur Rahman had given curfew-democracy while Khaleda Zia gave a system of corruption in the country.
"We should not forget that Khaleda Zia has two virtues (skills) -- corruption and killing people," said Hasina.
Read more: Police kept the bombs in BNP office: Fakhrul
She said her government has transformed the country into a digital Bangladesh, but they (BNP-Jamaat) are carrying out propaganda against the government using the digital platforms.
Hasina said they would execute the sentences of convicted Tarique Rahman, bringing him back from the United Kingdom.
The PM asked her party men to remain alert so that the BNp and Jamaat cannot harm even a single person. The hand with which they come to set vehicles on fire will have to be burnt with the same fire, she said, adding that it is not the time to get tortured anymore.
Noting that AL men were tortured for 21 years from 1975 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2008,
She said that the hand with which they come to hit will have to be broken.
“The hand with which they come to set people on fire will have to be brunt with the same fire. It will have to make them feel about the pain of burn injuries,” she said.
She directed the AL men to depict the pictures of how the BNP-Jamaat had tortured the people.
Fakhrul barred from going into BNP’s Nayapaltan office
BNP Secretary General Mirza Faklhrul Islam Alamgir was barred from going into BNP’s Nayapaltan Central Office this morning (December 08, 2022).
Police stopped Fakhrul when he reached Bijoynagar intersection around 10:50 am, after appearing before a Dhaka court in the morning.
Police officers told the senior BNP leader that they will not allow anyone to go into the BNP office until their necessary work is done for security reasons, as they “recovered bombs” from there.
BNP central office remained vacant since last night (December 07, 2022) after the police raid, but a large number of law enforcers remained deployed in the area since this morning.
Read more: Traffic movement halted in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan office
A tense situation is prevailing in the area in Dhaka where traffic movement remained disrupted since Wednesday night following the clash between BNP activists and police.
No one is being allowed to enter the area without ID, as police have set up barricades at the Nightingale intersection in Bijoynagar and Fakirapool. No vehicles were seen in front of the BNP office.
No BNP leaders and activists have been seen at the party office since this morning, after the clash.
Most offices, shopping malls and shops in the area were closed till 10 am this morning.
Read more: 1 killed in police-BNP clash at Nayapaltan; Over 150 leaders, activists held
Locals said that they are panicked as a huge number of policemen are taking position in the area. They were also facing difficulties in going to their respective destinations.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday claimed that two leaders of their party’s student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal were killed and over 100 others were injured in an attack by police when bullets were fired in front of their party’s Nayapaltan central office.
Besides, he said, around 600 BNP leaders and activists, including party's senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Dhaka south city unit convener Abdus Salam and north city unit convener Amanullah Aman, were arrested from the party office.
The DMP commissioner, meanwhile, said BNP men exploded cocktails from their party office and for that the drive was carried out.
Read More: BNP to hold press conference this afternoon
“We beefed up security by increasing the number of police. It was an official day, and they (BNP) didn’t take prior permission to hold the rally”, he said.
Drive inside BNP head office was against attempts for subversive activities, says DMP Commissioner
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq said on Wednesday that a drive was conducted in the BNP’s Nayapaltan head office on information that they stored rice, pulse, sticks and cocktails.
“Today was an office day. They demonstrated there without any prior permission. SWAT and M-16 have been used against their attempt of committing subversive activities,” he told reporters.
He made the remark while replying to questions from journalists at an emergency press conference at the DMP Media Centre.
The DMP commissioner said the BNP men exploded cocktails from their party office and for that the drive was carried out.
“We beefed up security by increasing the number of police. It was an official day, and they (BNP) didn’t take prior permission to hold the rally”, he said.
Replying to a question whether a BNP activist was killed, the police officer said that they could not confirm the information.
“I was in a meeting. It has to be looked into,” he said.
Read more: Govt has staged the Nayapaltan clash to foil Dec 10 rally: Mirza Fakhrul
Asked why police attacked the BNP men and party office, which was seen on a video footage, he said “I don’t know how much footage you have seen; I didn’t see it.”
“So far, I know, their rally is on December 10. Today was an official day. They were holding the rally by blocking the road. They gathered and held rally by stopping traffic despite no scheduled programme. This is not lawful. They did not do the right thing,” he said.
About arrest and harassment of the BNP leaders and activists, the commissioner said that he had no idea about anything like this.
The DMP Commissioner also said that they beefed up security in the city to ward off any untoward incident centring the Christmas Day.
Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, the BNP activists gathered in front of the head office and started chanting slogans at Nayapaltan. Sensing that the situation could turn volatile, police asked the party members to leave the area immediately. This resulted in a heated argument and at one point, police started beating the activists with batons to disperse them.
Taking shelter in nearby lanes, BNP activists started throwing brickbats in return. To quell the protesters, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets towards them, which injured around 50 people.
Read more: 1 killed in police-BNP clash at Nayapaltan; Over 150 leaders, activists held
Falling sick due to inhaling tear gas, some 200 activists took shelter inside the BNP office. Later, police conducted a drive inside the office and arrested about 100 activists along with party leaders like Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed and Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie.
In another development, police obstructed Mahmudur Rahman Manna-led Ganatantra Mancha at the Nightingale Intersection of the capital from advancing towards Naya Paltan.
2 killed, over 100 injured, 600 arrested during police action at Nayapaltan: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday claimed that two leaders of their party’s student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal were killed and over 100 others injured in an attack by police when bullets were fired in front of their party’s Nayapaltan central office.
Besides, he said, around 600 BNP leaders and activists, including party's senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Dhaka south city unit convener Abdus Salam and north city unit convene Amanullah Aman, were ‘brutely" arrested from the party office and the Nayapaltan area during a police raid.
Fakhrul, who took position on the footpath in front of the BNP office around 4:40pm after failing to enter the office during a police raid, talked to reporters before leaving the area around 8pm.
The BNP leader was seen sitting on the footpath in front of the BNP office dejectedly while watching helplessly how other party leaders were being arrested from inside the office.
Fakhrul said like any other day, their party leaders and activists gathered at Nayapaltan in front of the party office peacefully. “But a huge number of police attacked them without any provocation. They lobbed teargas shells, charged batons, fired rubber bullets and bullets, killing our two student leaders on the spot.”
He said the two student leaders were pronounced dead when they were taken to the hospital.
However, party sources said only a Chhatra Dal leader was killed and another is still alive till the filing of the story around 9:30pn
Besides, Fakhrul said over 100 BNP leaders and activists were injured in the police action.
Later, he said the different units of law enforcers started raiding the BNP office. “At the same time, I came here and told them I would go to the office. But I was forced to stay here. Then, they entered the office and heinously repressed our leaders and activists and arrested over 600 leaders and activists.”
Fakhrul said during the around five-hour drive they vandalised the CCTVs installed at the office and seized all the computers and important documents of the party.
“The most heinous act they committed was to take some explosives in bags by themselves and keep them inside our office,” he claimed.
The BNP leader said their party is a democratic party which believes in carrying out the movement and holding their programmes peacefully.
Read more: 1 killed in police-BNP clash at Nayapaltan; Over 150 leaders, activists held
He said their party has already held nine divisional rallies in a peaceful manner, ignoring various obstacles and provocation.
Fakhrul said the ruling party leaders and the ministers have started making provocative comments from the very beginning over the Dhaka rally.
He said even the ruling party top leaders threatened to wipe out BNP like Hefajat. “Following these dreadful comments we were fearing that they were making any blueprint to suppress people’s justified, democratic and peaceful movement using the state machinery as they did during 2013 and 2014.”
Terming the police action tragic and awful, the BNP leader said it not only affected BNP but also the people of the entire Bangladesh. “They also attacked democracy as they in a planned way carried out the incident to ruin the process of restoring democratic system and removing fascism.”
Read more: Govt has staged the Nayapaltan clash to foil Dec 10 rally: Mirza Fakhrul
He said the law enforcers ran rampant like the Pakistani invasion force of 1971. “We can’t imagine that any police force in a civilised country can act like that.”
Fakhrul said the police authorities were supposed to give BNP a reply about the permission for their rally venue on Wednesday. “Instead of doing that, they annihilated democracy again with their dangerous, tragic and heinous drive.”
He warned that the country’s people will not accept such repressive and suppressive acts. “They must put up strong resistance and defeat the autocratic and fascist regime.
Replying to a question about whether BNP would hold the rally on December 10 under the evolving situation, Fakhrul said their standing committee sat in a meeting at night. “We’ll let you know the decision of our standing committee’s meeting.”
Nothing to be worried about BNP’s Dec 10 rally, says Momen
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said there is nothing to be worried about BNP's December 10 rally in Dhaka, noting that it is meaningless if there is no people’s support behind any initiative.
Talking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said there is a government in the country and the government has a responsibility and an obligation to maintain peace and stability.
Read more: BNP ready to hold rally in Dhaka on December 10 braving all obstacles
“And we will do that. We don’t think there will be something big. We are not worried about it at all,” he said when his attention was drawn about the travel advisory issued by the British government.
The British government has updated its travel advisory and said political rallies may result in violent clashes, including with law enforcement agencies.
Read more: December-10 rally: BNP delegation sits with IGP
“Political rallies are expected on 10 December 2022 in Dhaka, with potential disruption to transport, communication networks and movement around the city. An increased law enforcement presence in the days surrounding 10 December 2022 is likely. You are advised to avoid all large gatherings, including political rallies,” reads the advisory.
BNP's Dec 10 rally: Obaidul Quader optimistic about a wayout for venue
Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said on Tuesday that the dispute over allocating space for BNP’s rally on December 10 will be resolved soon.
“A problem surfaced over the venue for BNP’s December 10 rally and there is no solution yet,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting with newly appointed Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma at the Secretariat.
Replying to a question, the minister said “I am always optimistic, and I am optimistic over it. Whatever the situation is, a solution will come out.”
Read more: BNP to avoid AL's trap over December-10 rally: Gayeshwar
“There is no reason for the people to panic. On behalf of my party, I want to say that we are in power, why would we want to create any unrest? Why will we do something that could create panic? We don’t need that,” he said.
“Now, if anybody attacks us, if there is any instigation, if they jump on us, will we sit idle? We hope the opposition will hold their rally peacefully,” he said.
Referring to the visit of the Indian High Commissioner, Quader said “There are many projects under road communication , and we have discussed the progress of the projects. We also discussed the Teesta issue. In reply to the Teesta issue, he said he will try his best (to resolve it).”
On September 27, BNP announced a series of public rallies in 10 divisional cities. The party will conclude the divisional programmes by holding its last rally in Dhaka on December 10.
Police in Dhaka have asked BNP to hold the rally at Suhrawardy Udyan, but BNP is determined to dol its rally in front of its party headquarters at Naya Paltan in Dhaka.
Read more: December-10 rally: BNP delegation sits with IGP
The BNP has long been demanding that the next general election be held under a caretaker government, not under any political government--a demand sharply rejected by the ruling Awami League as the constitution does not contain any such provision.