AL too plans ‘programme’ for Jan 5

After BNP announced to hold a rally in Dhaka on Tuesday to protest the January 5 elections, ruling Awami League said they will also “hold programmes” on the same day marking the anniversary.

However, Awami League’s Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud, did not specify what the programme will be. “It will be disclosed later,” he said at a press briefing at Awami League President Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi political office today.

Thereby, again, the rival parties have called for holding programmes for the election anniversary with contrasting views – that ended up in violence and deaths of over a 100 people last year.

Referring to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s yesterday’s claims that the ruling party “snatched peoples voting rights in the municipality elections using the administration,” Hasan Mahmud dubbed her as a “witch and mad”.

He alleged that Khaleda tried to “capture state power through killing and burning” last year. “She is still hatching a conspiracy to oust the government,” he said.

In 2014, political rivals Awami League and BNP called for rallies on January 5. The ruling party heralded the day as democracy saving day while BNP wanted to mark it as “democracy killing day”.

Neither were allowed to hold the programme and it resulted in BNP sponsoring a 99-day blockade on rail, water and roadways. The resulting large scale violence caused the death of over a 100 people.

Having boycotted the 2014 elections, BNP, at the polls’ second anniversary, says they want to tag it as “democracy killing day” this year and hold peaceful rally at Dhaka’s Suhrawardy Udyan.