AL rescheduled JL rally for conflict: Fakhrul

BNP's secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today said the ruling Awami League is trying to create a confrontational situation by rescheduling their rally on the same day as BNP's "mega rally".

He also warned that the government will have to take responsibility if any violence occurs at BNP's grand rally on July 27.

The comment comes as tensions are building ahead of the rival rallies – one by BNP and one by Jubo League -- on July 27.

"The Jubo League had a program scheduled for 24th July. After we announced our program, they rescheduled it to 27th July. It is clear that they did it to create a conflict," Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told the reporters after a joint meeting at the party office in Nayapaltan.

"If any kind of violent incident happens, the government will have to take responsibility," he warned.

Claiming that special persons of the government are speaking provocatively, Mirza Fakhrul told reporters that, "You must have noticed that for the last few days, the government's ministers have been giving threats."

"It [threats] cannot be accepted. All the movements we have done so far, every movement has been peaceful," he added.

Mirza Fakhrul said that an application has been submitted to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police seeking permission for the venue of the grand rally.

'I hope they will provide a final decision regarding our rally location today,' he said.

Before Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir's speech, senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi delivered the opening speech.

Joint Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, Dhaka North BNP Convener Amanullah Aman, Dhaka South BNP Convener Abdus Salam, and other senior leaders were present at the meeting.