The BNP yesterday shared its concerns over recent violence in Dhaka and Chattogram with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, calling for national unity to tackle such challenges.

The party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they urged the government to hold discussions with all political parties to build unity and prevent division among the people.

"We hope the chief adviser will promptly arrange a peaceful solution. The country should not reach a point that leads to division," he told reporters outside State Guest House Jamuna, where the meeting took place in the evening.

Photo: Sajjad Hossain BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other BNP leaders brief media after their talks with the chief adviser at State Guest House Jamuna in the capital today.

"At this moment, what is most needed is national unity, which we have conveyed to him," he said after leading a five-member BNP delegation in the hour-long meeting.

"We are facing significant challenges. To address these challenges, particularly those that threaten independence and sovereignty or seek to undermine them, we must build national unity to resist and counter such threats," Fakhrul said.

He also raised concerns over the law-and-order situation at the meeting, mentioning clashes between students of different colleges in Dhaka earlier this week and violent protests in Chattogram on Tuesday against the arrest of a former ISKCON leader.

"The main purpose of our meeting was to convey our party's concerns to the chief adviser regarding the recent developments, particularly the law-and-order situation in the past few days, the issues surrounding ISKCON, and the problems of students of some colleges," Fakhrul said, according to the UNB.

Fakhrul further stressed the need to hold elections as soon as possible after completing necessary reforms.

The BNP leader also called for withdrawing cases filed against party leaders and activists and also called for the dissolution of union parishads.

Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, and Chhatra Dal will march towards the Indian High Commission in Dhaka today.

It will begin from the party's Nayapaltan central office at 10:00am, said a joint press release yesterday.

The march, aimed at submitting a memorandum, is being organised in protest the attack on Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala, desecration of the national flag in Kolkata, and an alleged conspiracy to incite communal unrest.

In the release, leaders of the three organisations of BNP called on leaders and activists to join the demonstration.

The organisations planned the programme a day ahead of Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's visit to Dhaka tomorrow. There will be foreign office consultations led by foreign secretaries of the two countries.

It will be the first top diplomatic contact with Bangladesh since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August.

The meeting also comes at a time when ties between Dhaka and Delhi are under considerable strain over various issues, including allegations of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Indian Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Friday announced that activists from over 200 social and cultural organisations will march towards the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The demonstration, coinciding with International Human Rights Day, will be held to protest against "alleged atrocities" on minority communities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh.

Rajnish Jindal, co-in-charge of the RSS Delhi unit's media and communications department, shared details at a press conference where he said the march will include representatives of various social, cultural, and religious groups under the banner of "Civil Society of Delhi".

He added that a memorandum would be submitted to the Bangladesh High Commission and international organisations such as the UN, UNHRC, WHO, Amnesty International, and ADB, urging immediate intervention to halt the "violence".

Former Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri and ex-director general of the Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Jain also spoke at the event, expressing grave concern over the situation.

"This is the worst situation for Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh since the Liberation War of 1971," Veena claimed.

In another development, hoteliers in Barak valley of the north eastern state of Assam have announced that they would not host any Bangladesh national till alleged attacks on Hindus and other minorities in that country stop, PTI reported from Guwahati.

This was announced by Barak Valley Hotel and Restaurant Association President Babul Rai on Friday.

Barak Valley comprises three districts of Cachar, Sribhumi (formerly Karimganj) and Hailakandi and shares a 129km-long border with Bangladesh's Sylhet region.

A PTI report from Washington said a protest march is being organised by "HinduAction" near the White House tomorrow while another protest would be held by Hindu community leaders in Chicago today.

BNP will form a judicial commission to reform the judiciary, the party promised in the election manifesto unveiled today. 

It will place the control of the lower judiciary on the Supreme Court instead of the president through amendment of the constitution.

It will put in place a institutional system to appoint efficient judges to remove the current case backlog, the party said in its manifesto.