AL claims BNP committed ‘terror acts’ in name of rally in Khulna
Leaders of Awami League have said BNP activists committed acts of violence and terrorised the residents of Khulna under the guise of a public rally.
The Khulna AL leaders in a press conference at Khulna Press Club Sunday (23 October) said the government did not obstruct the BNP divisional rally held Saturday.
"For the last few days, the BNP has caused fear and panic among the public in Khulna and its surrounding areas centering their mass rally," Khulna district AL unit president Sheikh Harunur Rashid said in a written statement.
He also noted that leaders and workers of BNP and its affiliates from 10 districts joined the rally.
"There was no obstacle in their way. However, in a few isolated incidents, they clashed among themselves and resorted to violence," the statement read.
The AL leader further said, quoting their joint statement, that public transport owners and workers of the region stopped operating for the sake of security, which had nothing to do with the government or the ruling party.
Awami League Khulna Metropolitan Unit General Secretary MDA Babul Rana, Khulna District Awami League General Secretary Sujit Kumar Adhikari and Khulna-6 Lawmaker Md Aktaruzzaman Babu were also present on the occasion.
BNP – defying the road and water transport strikes and various other obstacles – kicked off the party's day-long divisional protest rally in Khulna Saturday.
The BNP men alleged that they were obstructed and had to face many obstacles on their journey to the rally site.
Earlier on 28 September, BNP announced it would hold mass rallies in 10 divisional cities.The party already arranged two massive rallies in Chattogram and Mymensingh.