27 July: Opposition ultimatum looms, ruling side on high alert

A 48-hour ultimatum for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation may come at the BNP's rally tomorrow, according to party sources.

If the government does not comply with the ultimatum, the opposition party leaders are planning to go for successive anti-government programmes from 30 July, including demonstrations, rallies, and sit-ins.

Furthermore, if the opposition's movement reaches its peak with enough activists joining in as expected, the BNP and its allies plan to lay siege to the Secretariat, Election Commission and the PM's office.

Aware of a possible ultimatum from the BNP, the ruling party activists have been ordered to occupy the streets all the time.

Regarding political gatherings tomorrow, Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Md Munibur Rahman said they urge every party not to block any roads and not to cause any kind of sufferings of the people.

Another official from the operations division of the DMP told TBS that they have already alerted police stations and units to be cautious.

"A heap of policemen will be deployed to tackle any untoward situation. If any anarchy occurs, police would go hard," the officer said.

Saiful Haque, the coordinator of the alliance and general secretary of Bangladesh-er Biplobi Workers Party, told TBS that they will announce a 48-hour ultimatum for the government to resign.

"If our demand is not met within the deadline, we will go for all our programmes from Sunday, and continuous programs are coming," Saiful Haque said. 

"Our aim is to bring down this government as soon as possible," he added.

However, the final decision for future programmes will be made before the rally tomorrow, considering the overall situation including the stance of the government, leaders of BNP and its allies told The Business Standard.

Heated political arena

With just a few months away from the 12th National Elections, the country's political arena is heating up surrounding the rally.

Jamaat-e-Islami announcing a rally in the capital on 28 July and several visits of foreign delegations regarding the election have added a new dimension to this tension.

Meanwhile, the ruling party activists have been ordered by the Awami League high command to be ready to occupy the streets to counter these opposition programmes.

Countering BNP's rally, three Awami League wings – Jubo League, Swechchhasebak League and Chhatra League have announced a " peace rally" on the same day.

In order to be prepared against BNP's movement, a meeting was held on Tuesday between Awami League's high command and the party's affiliate organisations, according to sources.

The ruling party is also likely to announce more programmes in their "peace rally" tomorrow, sources said. 

SM Mannan Kochi, general secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan North Awami League, who participated in the meeting, told TBS, "It was decided in the meeting that AL will also announce successive programmes."

"Our programmes will continue simultaneously with BNP's," Mannan Kochi said. 

"However, we have been asked to be careful so that there is no conflict," the Awami leader added.

Meanwhile, several top Awami League leaders told TBS that law enforcement forces have been instructed to prevent any conflict during the programmes.

They suspect that BNP-Jamaat and their allies will try to create conflicts on the day. In that case, the police have been told to be on high alert from the highest levels of the government.

Regarding political gatherings tomorrow, Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Md Munibur Rahman said they urge every party not to block any roads and not to cause any kind of sufferings of the people. 

Another official from the operations division of DMP told TBS that they have already alerted police stations and units to be cautious. 

"A heap of policemen will be deployed to tackle any untoward situation. If any anarchy occurs, police would go hard," the officer said.

At a programme at the secretariat, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told journalists that political parties would be allowed to carry out any activities if they maintain safety and security. 

"Political parties have been asked to maintain law and order situation and not to disrupt the traffic movement," the minister added.