BNP men throng Rajshahi city two days before rally

Leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies have started thronging Rajshahi city where the party is going to hold its ninth divisional rally on Saturday (3 December).

The party supporters started gathering at the Madrasa Ground in Rajshahi two days before the rally defying a transport strike which apparently cut off Rajshahi from the rest of the country. 

Around a thousand BNP men have already reached the rally venue on Wednesday night (30 November)  and are staying in makeshift tents under the open sky at Rajshahi Eidgah Ground, adjacent to the rally venue.

Many are also staying in different places including hotels, community centres, relative's houses and in temporary tents at Padma river bank.

Meanwhile, Rajshahi Transport Owners Association went on indefinite strike in all eight districts of the division from Thursday morning ahead of the rally.

No long-route buses have left or entered Rajshahi from the other districts of the country, including capital Dhaka, since this morning. 

BNP leaders and supporters were seen gathering the Rajshahi city from different nearby districts using alternative transports including CNG-run autorickshaws, three-wheeler transports, motorbikes and other vehicles. 

Expressing his enthusiasm, 60-year-old farmer Abu Zafar who has come to Rajshahi from Naogaon to join the rally said that he and other BNP men started their journey from Naogaon's Padmitala on Wednesday evening with 10 buses. But police barred their buses in Rajshahi's Mohonpur area.

Then they walked 20 kilometres to reach the rally venue, the elderly farmer added.

"We are not getting fertilizer. The government supports those who are not in need. I came here to join the movement to unseat the government," he added.

Bogura BNP's vice president Idris Ali said police obstructed them several times on their way to the rally venue.

"We bring all necessary things including food and cooking ingredients to stay here for three days," Idris told The Business Standard. 

Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu, organising secretary of BNP and coordinator of the mass rally committee, said that over a thousand BNP men were arrested in Rajshahi division in the last few days. 

"Police are harassing our leaders and activists. We will make our rally a success despite all the obstacles," he added.

BNP leaders alleged that the transport strike is a strategy of the government to create obstacles in the political party's rally. 

As part of their ongoing movement, BNP on 27 September 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.

BNP has already arranged rallies in Chattogram, Mymensingh, Khulna, Rangpur, Barishal, Faridpur, Sylhet and Cumilla, braving various obstacles and transport strikes.

BNP will conclude the divisional rallies through a mass gathering in Dhaka city on 10 December, coinciding with International Human Rights Day.