Demonstrations by other parties opposing the ruling Awami League are taking place in other parts of the capital
BNP leaders and activists have taken up positions on the road in front of the party’s central offices in Dhaka’s Naya Paltan as part of a movement to try and depose the ruling Awami League government.
The protest, which began at 10:30 am, is scheduled to end at 2 pm. Separate protests are to be held simultaneously in other divisional cities.
At 12 pm, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Vice Chairman Abdullah Al Noman joined the demonstration in Dhaka.
Meanwhile, a number of parties allied with the anti-government movement are holding their own protests across the capital.
The Ganatantra Mancha is holding a demonstration in front of the Jatiya Press Club, while similar programmes are being held by the Ganatantrik Bam Oikya and the Gono Forum on the eastern side of the press club and the Eden Complex in Arambagh respectively.
The 12-Party Alliance that split off from the 20-Party Alliance is staging a sit-in next to the Bijoynagar water tank, while another political group has taken up positions opposite the Pratim Hotel in Purana Paltan and the LDP is staging a protest in front of its central offices in Karwan Bazar, near the FDC.
This is the second official programme organised by the anti-government movement that launched with a list of 10 demands, including the resignation of the current government and the formation of a non-partisan caretaker government ahead of the next general election.
On Dec 24, the BNP and its allied parties held similar protests in the nine divisional cities, while the Dhaka rally was held on Dec 30.
Leaders and activists from different parts of the city led marches to the Naya Paltan headquarters of the BNP to take part in the sit-in protest. They prepared for the demonstration by laying down polythene and mats on one side of the road in front of the offices.
Party leaders and activists blocked the road from Fakirerpur to the Nightingale Restaurant intersection in Kakrail. The air was thick with slogans. There is a heavy deployment of police lining the Naya Paltan alleys for the protest.
Members of the BNP Standing Committee are leading the demonstrations in other divisional cities, said Syed Emran Saleh Prince, acting office secretary for the party.
