Dhaka city unit Awami League leaders and activists have been instructed to take control of the capital on December 29 the day the BNP-led opposition alliance has planned its ‘march for democracy’ to Dhaka.
They have also been asked resist the BNP and Jamaat’s ‘anarchy’ before the general elections scheduled for January 5 at any cost, sources attending a meeting of the city Awami League that was held at the party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue on Thursday, said.
They have also been asked, along with law enforcers, to step up their vigil on mosques and madrassahs and to stay alert to subversion by the BNP and Jamaat till the elections.
The meeting that the acting city unit president MA Aziz presided over asked all its ward, thana and union committees and front organisations to stand guard in their localities from early Sunday and ‘beat up outsiders before handing them over to the police.’
The acting city Awami League general secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya at the meeting announced the action programmes saying that the ruling party would be in control of the city on December 29.
He said that as part of the action programme, the Dhaka city Awami League would bring out flag processions at Mohammadpur, Adabar, Agargaon and Mirpur on Friday afternoon and in 61 wards and 18 unions of Dhaka at 3:00pm on Saturday to protest at the anti-democratic movement of the BNP.
AL presidium member Mohammad Nasim, who spoke at the meeting, urged all transport workers not to run their vehicles on December 29.
He said that the Awami League-led alliance would not let BNP hold any programme before the general elections.
‘We will extend all-out cooperation if you [BNP] hold any programme or sit for discussions with us after January 5. But this time, we will not tolerate your any conspiracy to foil the elections scheduled for January 5,’ Nasim said
The Awami League will not compromise with BNP if it does not sever ties with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, he added.
The state minister for law, Quamrul Islam, urged the party men to stand guard with sticks in their locality to resist the BNP and Jamaat on December 29.
The Awami League’s general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam in a statement issued on Thursday urged the all pro-independence forces to put up a strong resistance against the opposition BNP-led anti-independence force on December 29 and not to respond to the call the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, made.
The information minister, Hasanul Haq Inu, at a press briefing at the secretariat on Thursday, said that the government would not allow any programme of the BNP-led opposition alliance that could foil the national elections.
He termed ‘destructive’ the BNP-led alliance’s ‘march for democracy’ to Dhaka planned for December 29.
He said that the Awami League-led government would take all measures to resist any move to obstruct the 10th parliamentary polls.
The communications minister, Obaidul Quader, told reporters at the secretariat that the law enforcement agencies would go all out to keep order centring on the march to Dhaka.
