BNP, Jamaat call for blockade on 22, 23 Nov
The BNP declared the blockade to protest against the polls schedule
The BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have called for a 48-hour blockade starting on Wednesday (22 November) after the parties rejected the upcoming national elections scheduled for 7 January.
The blockade will be enforced from 6am Wednesday, BNP's Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said during a virtual briefing on Monday.
Jamaat also expressed its solidarity with the BNP programme in a press release, signed by its acting secretary general ATM Masum, issued right after BNP's announcement.
"We are declaring the blockade in protest against the unfair verdict cancelling Jamaat's registration, and the announcement of the election schedule," the Jamaat leader said in the statement.
In the latest announcement, the country was spared from a blockade on Tuesday as the ongoing two-day hartal is set to conclude today.
On 15 November, the Election Commission declared the poll schedule, sparking a new wave of political unrest in the country, as major opposition parties remained steadfast in their refusal to participate in the election under the Hasina government.
Political turmoil has engulfed the country since 28 October when opposition demonstrations were marked by clashes, deaths and violence.
The BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and other like-minded parties have been declaring hardline political programmes since then to realise their demands.