The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday staged demonstrations across the country to press for repeal of the 15th amendment to the constitution amid police obstructions at places.
The party processions ran into police obstructions at different district towns, including Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Bogra, Khagrachari and Jhenaidah but no major incidents were reported.
In Dhaka, some activists of the party hurled stones at the police after its demonstration ended at Moghbazar crossing in the afternoon, forcing pedestrians to run for cover and shopkeepers to pull shutters. But no clashes took place as police promptly chased the activists away.
The BNP staged the demonstrations in protest at the abolition of the provision for an election-time caretaker government through the 15th amendment and also against the recent police brutality on the opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque and implicating Tarique Rahman in 'false' cases.
BNP brought out a large
procession from in front of its central office.
Before starting the procession, acting BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said a strong movement was in the making to force the government to hold snap polls under a caretaker government to form a 'popular government'.
'We have no alternative but to wage an all-out movement,' he said and called for a broader unity under the leadership of Khaleda Zia.
Fakhrul said the government had turned the country into a jail and put opposition leaders behind bars in 'false' cases in a bid to silence the party. 'Even BNP's senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman and his younger brother Arafat Rahman were not spared from the government's vengeance,' he added.
He censured the government for not taking any action against the people involved in lynching six students at Amin Bazar on the outskirts of the city.
Activists of the party and its fronts started gathering in front of the party's central office in small processions from midday. Strict security measures were taken along the route of the procession which caused severe traffic congestions in the city.
In Chittagong, BNP brought out a large procession which terminated in front of the party's office at Kazir Dewri where city unit president Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury addressed the crowd.
Police dispersed a party procession in Bogra charging batons and leaving an activist injured. Police also picked up one person from the spot.
Patuakhali correspondent reported that the local unit of BNP brought out a procession defying police obstruction. Police tried to halt the marchers in front of the house of the party's central leader Altaf Hossain Chowdhury. But the activists broke through the cordon.
Khagrachari correspondent reported that scuffles broke out between the BNP activists and police after the lawmen tried to intercept their procession. Defying the police barricade, they marched through the streets of the town and held a rally in front of the party's office.
In Barisal, rival factions of BNP separately brought out processions as part of the central programmes. Supporters of district BNP president Ahsan Habib Kamal brought out a procession from Shaheed Minar area and the other started the march from the party's office at Ashwini Kumar Hall.
Separate processions were also brought out by rival factions of BNP in Magura.
In Pabna town, the party brought out a procession from its local office at Lahiripara and paraded major streets in the town.
Soruce : New Age
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