& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Govt slaps ban, BNP shifts date

Opposition defers mass procession plan to tomorrow, says it is showing tolerance; AL postpones rally

Staff Correspondent
The BNP last night rescheduled today's mass procession in Dhaka for tomorrow.
The decision came after a daylong drama followed by a police ban on rallies and processions in the capital and four other cities today amid fears of a deterioration in law and order.
“Showing tolerance, we deferred our programme for a day. We will hold it on Monday [tomorrow]. We will go for fresh programmes if the government obstructs our Monday programme," acting BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters on emerging from an emergency meeting of the party's standing committee.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia presided over the meeting at her Gulshan office in the capital.
The Awami League has also postponed its rally today in the capital following the imposition of the ban.
“We have postponed our rally out of respect for the law. We will sit soon to decide our next course of action,” said Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, general secretary of AL Dhaka city unit.
Meanwhile, police have imposed a ban on public gatherings in the metropolitan areas of Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet.
On January 9, Khaleda Zia at a Chittagong rally declared countrywide mass procession programmes for today and a rally in Dhaka on March 12 to apply pressure on the government for a restoration of the caretaker government system.
The BNP chairperson was scheduled to lead a procession today from the BNP's Naya Paltan office in the capital.
More than two weeks after her announcement, the AL city unit on Thursday declared that it would hold a rally and bring out a procession from the AL central office on Bangabandhu Avenue today to protest "the opposition's conspiracy to create anarchy and foil the war crimes trial.”
AL Khulna unit and its other city units also announced that they would hold rallies.
Khulna AL unit President and Mayor Talukdar Abdul Khaleque said the party would not organise any human chain or procession following a police ban on public gatherings in Khulna today.
BNP Khulna City President Nazrul Islam Monju has said the local chapter of the party would act on instructions from the party high command.
Acting BNP secretary general Alamgir told the government not to view the decision as her party's weakness, saying the BNP would observe its programmes as per schedule in the other cities and districts.
But if the government slapped a ban on public gatherings in other places, the party's local units would immediately announce fresh programmes, Alamgir said.
He said the government had imposed the ban from fear of a huge public response to the programme. The ban once again reflects its “undemocratic" and “fascist attitude,” said the BNP leader.
In a statement yesterday, DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said, “It appears that public safety, and law and order in the metropolitan areas may deteriorate. There could be subversive activities due to the mass procession and rallies announced by the city AL and BNP the same day.”
He, however, did not clarify why it appeared to him that public safety, and law and order may deteriorate.
“I announce a ban on human chain, protest rally, sit-in, meeting or rally and procession,” he said.
The ban will remain in force in the capital from 6:00am to 12:00midnight, said the DMP commissioner.
BNP insiders said the party will again defer Monday's programme for one or two days if the government obstructs its Monday's programme.
Khaleda Zia had earlier asked the government to lift the ban and cancel the ruling party's "counter programme".
“It will not be possible to thwart movement through conspiracy and repression. And its outcome will not be good.”
Khaleda was speaking at a function at the Institute of Diploma Engineers in the capital.
The BNP chairperson's remarks came hours after the DMP had imposed the 18-hourban.
Khaleda said it was the democratic right of people to hold peaceful demonstrations.
"A mass procession programme was supposed to be held tomorrow [today]. I had announced the programme one and a half months ago, and Awami League later declared a counter programme to obstruct our programme.”
Khaleda said the "failed government" is detached from the people, and the huge public response to the BNP's earlier programmes had given it a scare.
"The people are going through a period of uncertainty... they are getting frustrated. The government is becoming intolerant. Democracy is in trouble, and national interests and people's safety are at stake. We have to overcome this situation through a concerted effort. ”
She later held two meetings with the leaders of the BNP-led four-party alliance.