BNP leaders, workers gather at Golapbagh ground

Bangladesh desk: Leaders and workers of BNP are gathering at Golapbagh ground near Syedabad Bus Terminal in the capital ahead of the party’s grand rally scheduled to be held on Saturday.

They started gathering in the ground soon after the party got permission for holding permission there amid much uncertainty which was created over the venue of the rally.

BNP on Friday finally got the permission to hold the rally at Golapbagh ground tomorrow (Saturday) from Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). The party’s Standing Committee member Dr Khandker Mosharraf Hossain at a press conference at the BNP Chairperson’s political office at Gulshan said the party’s mass rally will begin at 11:00am on Saturday at Golapbagh ground.

Hundreds of BNP activists were seen thronging in the ground at about 4.30pm. They were chanting various slogans, including demanding the restoration of caretaker government and release of Khaleda Zia. Leaders and activists were coming in the rally venue from different areas of the capital.

Chattogram district North Swechchasebak Dal convening committee member Ashraf Uddin reached the ground along with many other party workers when they heard about the permission of the rally venue.

The BNP leader said, “We came to Dhaka boarding on a freight car. We came to this ground soon after hearing the news about the venue.”

He said their maid demands include release of the party chairperson Khaleda Zia and other leaders. Besides, they also want to bring back the party’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman into the country.

Ashraf Uddin said they came to the ground separately to avoid the harassment of police.

Another BNP leader Rezwan Ahmed of Sylhet said he arrived in Dhaka on December 7 to join in the rally. “I had to leave the house which I stayed in and shifted to a new place to avoid police raid.  I came here with an aim to bring back democracy in the country.”

Several leaders and activists who came to the venue from different districts of the country said they had to stay in the city separately on their own initiatives. They throng to the ground soon after hearing the news of the permission for the venue.