Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum calls for boycotting courts from 1 to 7 Jan

The Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, a pro-BNP lawyers' association, has declared a nationwide boycott of courts, including the Supreme Court, from January 1 to January 7.

The announcement, made through a press conference at the South Hall of the Supreme Court Lawyers' Association on Wednesday (27 December), is in solidarity with the non-cooperation movement called by the BNP.  

This BNP and other like-minded parties are pressing for the boycott of 7 January elections, the resignation of the government, and the establishment of a neutral non-partisan caretaker government to oversee the polls.

During the press conference, Secretary General Barrister Kaiser Kamal said since 28 October, 23,460 pro-democracy leaders have been arrested, 684 cases filed, and 1,482 people sentenced in the last 16 weeks.

Kamal urged lawyers nationwide to peacefully support the "movement for democracy, disregarding government and supporter incitement".

BNP holds virtual meeting with EU delegation

Also on Wednesday, in a virtual meeting with the EU delegation, the BNP said the upcoming January 7 election is going to be openly rigged like the polls in 2014 and 2018, according to a source present at the meeting.

The party also said elected candidates would be from the ruling party – either "dummy" candidates or the Awami League nominees. 

At the meeting, the opposition leaders also pointed to "collusion between so-called opposition parties and the government in seat allocation".

BNP's Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan, head of the delegation, said that the EU delegation would prepare a report on the election situation.

Countrymen not responding to 'dummy' election: Rizvi

In the morning, the BNP distributed leaflets in Shantinagar, calling for the boycott of the "one-sided election".

Addressing people there, Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said people are turning away from the government and Election Commission.

Later in the evening, Rizvi criticised the ruling Awami League's manifesto for the upcoming 12th national elections, saying it was "a mockery resembling a circus."

"The prime minister is trying hard to orchestrate a farcical election. She herself presented the party's manifesto. The common people see it as a joke akin to a circus clown's act," he said while speaking at a virtual press conference.