The ruling Awami League on Tuesday requested opposition BNP to differ the date of its mass procession programme on December 24, the day of the AL’s earlier announced national council in capital’s Suhrawardy Udyan, to avert untoward incidents.
AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, on Tuesday urged the BNP not to bring out its mass procession in Dhaka on December 24 next as the ruling AL’s national council is scheduled to be held on that day.
He made the call while speaking at a preparatory meeting held at AL president’s political office in Dhanmondi here on the occasion of the party’s 22nd national council.
“Our national council will be held on December 24 next. BNP has announced bringing out its mass procession in Dhaka on that day. We must shun confrontation,” he said.
The AL general secretary said the AL leaders and activists will arrive in Dhaka from all over the country ahead of its national council and if the BNP brings out its mass procession on that day, there may be a problem. “If necessary, the BNP should go outside Dhaka and hold its mass procession.”
Replying to the demands of BNP leaders, he said they (BNP leaders) are perplexed as the BNP’s December 10 mass rally was a super flop.
The AL leaders and activists took a stance across the country on December 10 last so that BNP men could not create any anarchy in the country, Quader said.
About the BNP’s 10-point demand, including elections under a non-partisan interim government, he said there is nothing new in its 10-point demand.
The road transport and bridges minister said the BNP’s demands have no value to the country’s people because they want to survive, claiming that Bangladesh’s economic growth has started going up again.
Noting that the BNP could not do anything that it wanted, he said the BNP was threatening that it would show ‘red card’ to the government on December 10, but the people have shown ‘red card’ to it.
Chaired by AL presidium member and convener of stage and decoration sub-committee formed for the party’s national council Jahangir Kabir Nanak, the meeting was attended, among others, by AL joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, its organising secretary Mirza Azam, science and technology affairs secretary Abdus Sabur, legal affairs secretary Najibullah Hiru, forest and environment affairs secretary Delwar Hossain, executive members Riazul Kabir Kawsar, Iqbal Hossain Apu, Shahabuddin Faraji and Syed Abdul Awal Shamim, Dhaka South City AL president Abu Ahmad Mannafi and Dhaka North City AL president Sheikh Bazlur Rahman.
