No elections under Hasina govt: Fakhrul at Barishal rally

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has reiterated that the party will not take part in any polls under the current government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Election Commission as it is constituted now.

"This government must step down and parliament must be dissolved. Then a new government will form a new Election Commission under which the national polls will take place," he said at the BNP's fifth divisional rally in Barishal on Saturday (5 November).  

"The Awami League has destroyed all our achievements one by one. We introduced multi-party democracy in the country, whereas they have established one-party rule," Mirza Fakhrul said.  

"They [AL] are attacking our leaders and activists in several places and then suing us. Today, even religious scholars are being detained," he said, adding, "No one is safe from them."

The BNP secretary general accused the Awami League of looting thousands of crores of taka, which he said led to the current monetary crisis in the country.

"There is not a single sector they have not stolen from," Fakhrul claimed.   

BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said that the Awami League will no longer be able to rig votes.

Terming the rally in Barishal as a revolution, he said it will lead to the fall of the Awami League.

BNP Standing Committee Member Abdul Moin Khan alleged that there are no human rights in the country under the current government.

BNP, AL men injured after attack on BNP motorcade

At least 10 people were injured when the motorcade of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain was attacked by miscreants on its way to the party's divisional rally venue in Barishal on Saturday.

BNP activists said seven vehicles were vandalised during the attack.

Later, BNP leaders and activists vandalised Mahilara Modern Club and beat up Jubo League and Chhatra League activists, leaving at least 15 injured. Five of the injured have been admitted to Gournadi Upazila Health Complex.

According to police and activists of both parties, around 30-40 activists of the Jubo League and Chhatra League intercepted the vehicle carrying Ishtiaque Hossain at Gournadi bus stand in Barishal this morning.

After the incident, three other BNP leaders were also attacked in the same area on their way to the rally this morning.

The motorcades of Engineer Riazul Islam Rizu, science and technology affairs secretary of the BNP's central committee; assistant secretary Ashraf Uddin Bokul and former Chhatra Dal leader Selina Nishita were attacked at around 8am.

A number of BNP men were injured in the attacks and many of them were forced to return to Dhaka.

However, tens of thousands of BNP activists joined the rally, defying obstacles, including road and water transport strikes.

They kept a seat empty on the stage for BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, who is on interim release after being convicted in two corruption cases.

The BNP began the programme at around 12 noon, with local leaders delivering speeches at short intervals.

As part of its ongoing movement, the party on 27 September announced a series of 10 divisional rallies, which will conclude through a mass gathering in Dhaka on 10 December.