Over 1 lakh BNP activists accused in 1,124 cases since 28 July: Rizvi 

More than one lakh BNP leaders and activists have been accused in 1,124 cases filed by the police over political programmes enforced by the opposition party since 28 July, the party's Senior Joint General Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed today (2 January). 

Besides, 24,541 leaders and activists of BNP have been arrested and 27 people, including journalists, have been killed during the period, Rizvi said through a virtual press conference. 

"The jail authorities cancelled BNP Joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal's division facilities inside the prison," he added.

Earlier at noon, while distributing leaflets in the Gulshan-2 area, Rizvi once again called on the people to boycott the upcoming elections, terming the polls a farce.

"The nation is being cheated through illegal dummy elections; it is a fraud against the entire nation. We must stand against this illegal election and boycott it," he said.

Urging voters to prevent the elections, he said, "The fascist Awami League government has rigged people's right to vote; they have taken away freedom of speech. They want to shape the country as a one-party state, but it will not be possible on independent soil."

He also said the BNP would revive democracy in Bangladesh through a peaceful process.

The BNP, among some other parties, had called for elections to be held under a caretaker government – the constitutional provision for which was scrapped in 2011