Amid escalating tension, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Friday prohibited all meetings, gatherings, processions and demonstrations in front of Jatiya Party's central office in Kakrail and surrounding areas.
To address the recent situation and maintain public order, the DMP in a public notice announced that all meetings, gatherings, processions, and demonstrations are prohibited at House #66 on Pioneer Road (JP office) in Kakrail, and surrounding areas under the authority of Section 29 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance.
Ahead of the JP’s scheduled rally slated for November 2, a group of student-public under the banner of ‘Anti-Fascism Student, Worker and Public’ on Thursday set the JP headquarters on fire and besieged the party following clashes with the party activists.
Chanting various slogans, protesters said the JP had no right to do politics as it was a ‘cohort of the AL and India’ and it participated in the last three elections under the AL.
Condemning the attack, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader at a briefing on Friday vowed to hold a peaceful rally of the party in the capital to protest against the injustice and discrimination occurring in the country, even at the risk of life.
Hours after the JP’s announcement, Chhatra Odhikar Parishad President Bin Yamin Molla at a briefing at TSC at Dhaka University issued a note of warning that it would not allow the JP to hold the rally.
Demanding the arrest of the JP leaders, he said, “We want to know what is the stand of the interim government over the Jatiya Party. We want to know how the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner has allowed the cohorts of the killers to hold the rally.”
Following the ban, the JP has postponed its plan to hold the rally in front of its central office in Kakrail.
The party announced the decision in a statement stating that it would announce its next programmes officially at a later time.
“The Jatiya Party has taken this decision respecting the law as the Dhaka Metropolitan Police banned any kind of meeting, assembly, procession, rally, demonstration, etc. near House-66 on Pioneer Road, Kakrail and surrounding areas under Section 29 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance,” reads the statement.
Earlier, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader vowed to hold a peaceful rally in the capital city to protest ‘injustice and discrimination’ in the country braving risks of life.
“The Jatiya Party will hold the rally tomorrow even it costs our lives. We are ready to die if necessary. Let’s see how many people they are willing to kill,” he told reporters at a briefing at the party’s Banani office in the capital on Friday.
He came up with the announcement a day after some unidentified people set fire to the JP central office.
On Thursday, a group of students and people under the banner of ‘Anti-Fascism Student, Worker and Public’ set the JP headquarters on fire and besieged the party office following clashes with the party activists.
Chanting various slogans, protesters said the JP had no right to do politics as it was a ‘cohort of the AL and India’ and it participated in the last three elections under the AL.
The rally, protesting the filing of cases against the party leaders and the price hike of essential commodities, is scheduled to be held in front of the party's central office at Kakrail at 11:00 am.
Condemning the attack on the party’s headquarters, Quader said, “Remember, Islam teaches us to stand against injustice. If you cannot protest with your hands, speak up, if you cannot speak, feel hatred in your heart. We are ready to sacrifice our lives for this.”
Urging the leaders and activists not to be afraid, he said, “We will always be there for the people of the country. Everyone must protest from their position.”
Such a tensed situation arises between the JP leaders and the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement after Sarjis Alam, a coordinator of the movement, said the party was an ‘ally of the fascists’ and they will ‘crush them’ on the streets.
The tension escalated further after the JP, which was the main opposition in parliament during the last two tenures of Awami League led government, announced that it would hold the rally on November 2.
Quader also described the JP’s role from the 9th parliamentary elections in 2008 to the 12th parliamentary elections in 2024.
The JP chairman alleged that a conspiracy is currently afoot against the party by labelling it as an accomplice of AL but the party has never been involved in any illegal activities of the AL government.
“Although the Jatiya Party has formed an alliance with AL in the past, it does not mean the party has been an accomplice in illegal activities of the Awami League,” he said.
GM Quader, the brother of JP founder and late military dictator HM Ershad, said that they too joined the anti-discrimination movement.
“We issued statements on every issue. We prayed for the students. When people connected to the Chief Adviser’s office started talking against us, it hurt us. It is because he [Chief Adviser] remained silent,” he said.
Quader said, “We have forged the grand alliance with the Awami league. But, it does not mean we are its cohort. We have committed no crime. We are being forced into a criminal role for reasons unknown to us.”
However, he said, the past elections were legally valid.
GM Quader raised questions about whether the benefits of the people's movements, in which JP and he personally participated, are reaching the citizens.
He expressed disappointment at the country's current state, saying, “The nation seems divided. It feels like a certain group has taken over the country. We supported them, as did the general public, but now it seems they don't recognise that support. They will determine who is guilty and who is innocent, similar to the divisions created under Minister Sheikh Hasina.”
GM Quader also expressed disappointment with the role of Chief Advisor Prof Muhammad Yunus.
“Our Chief Advisor, a highly respected figure whom we consider a guardian of the nation, has remained silent despite allegations against us from his closest people. This is deeply unfortunate for us.”
He urged the Chief Advisor, saying, “You are our guardian. You should treat us all equally. Everyone has faults. If there are mistakes, judge and punish us accordingly but also embrace us afterward.”
Reminding that the Jatiyo Party is still a national-level political party, he continued, “We have been attacked repeatedly and buried down, but they failed to stop us from coming back.”
“A vested quarter cannot tolerate Jatiya Party’s popularity. But no one will be able to destroy the place we hold among the people's hearts. Jatiya Party is the only party that has maintained legacy.”
JP Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu, Presidium Members Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan, Alamgir Sikder and Sherifa Quader, among others, were present at the briefing.
