BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi led a procession in the capital this morning on the first day of the 48-hour hartal called by the party protesting the 12th Jatiya Sangsad polls slated to be held tomorrow (January 7).

The procession started from Shahbag intersection of the capital and ended at Banglamotor on Saturday (January 6) around 7:30 am.

At this time, activists set fire to tires.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi in a short speech at the end of the rally said: "The government has again started playing with fire. The government has resorted to the old game of holding one-sided elections. Earlier, the ruling group tried to gain political advantage by carrying out hellish rampages of arson. People believe that yesterday's Benapole Express train fire and casualties were part of the government's old game."

BNP urged voters to boycott the general election, reiterating demands for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down or else risk what it called a "one-sided dummy election".

BNP, Jamaat and like-minded parties have so far observed blockades in the 12th phase to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit power and hold the next election under a non-partisan administration.

BDST: 1302 HRS, JAN 06, 2024
SMS