Khaleda Zia calls 48-hour nationwide “strike’ ahead of general elections in Bangladesh

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
WASHINGTON DC, 7th Jan. Bangladesh Opposition party leader of BNP and the former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, on Saturday has decided to boycott the general election scheduled for Sunday, according to news media reports.

The general elections in Bangladesh is set for January 7 and the main opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party issued a call for a 48-hour nationwide ‘hartal’ (general strike) commenced on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s “illegal government,” news reported.

The party is advocating for the formation of an interim non-party neutral government to oversee the election, a demand that has been rebuffed by the government led by Prime Minister Hasina.

The BNP will carry out processions, mass campaigns and distribute leaflets against the polls across the country, as reported by local media.

The second day of the hartal coincides with the election, which has gathered global attention.

BNP Joint Senior Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the programs on Thursday afternoon in a virtual press briefing.

He said that the hartal will begin at 6 am on Saturday and end at 6 am on Monday.

BNP’s like-minded parties will observe the programmes simultaneously.

The demands by the BNP include the resignation of the government, the release of its leaders and activists arrested since late October, and the unconditional release of party chief Khaleda Zia.

Liberal Democratic Party also said that it would go on a strike for 48 hours starting at 6 am on Saturday,after Rizvi’s announcement,

It will be the fifth hartals called by the BNP and like-minded parties since October 29. The opposition parties enforced countrywide blockades for 23 days in 12 phases over the period.

BNP came up with the call for a non-cooperation movement on December 20, which led to the continued mass campaigns and distribution of leaflets.

Rizvi said that their programme is meant to drum up public support in favour of the party’s call to boycott the January 7 election.

He was wanted by the police for campaigning against the election, according to local news reports.

BNP leader Khaleda Zia urged the people to boycott the “one-sided and dummy election as it will put the country into trouble.”

The leaders of the 12-party alliance marched in the Paltan area, where they circulated anti-poll leaflets too. Moreover, they also held a brief rally in front of the National Press Club.

BNP Standing Committee Member Abdul Moyeen Khan, pointed at the Awami League, said, “A government can retain power by cheating the people.”

“But the Awami League government will have to step down today or tomorrow,” he added.

He was addressing a rally of the Bangladesh Sammilito Peshajibi Parishad, a pro-BNP organization of professionals, near the press club, reported the Dhaka Tribune.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina made an impassioned appeal and urged the people to exercise their voting rights in Sunday’s election to prove that democracy prevails in Bangladesh.

“Today I’ve appeared before you to ask for votes in favour of the symbol, Boat,” she said in a televised address to the nation, her final campaign speech before the January 7 national election to form the country’s 12th parliament.

“The call has come; it’s time to take the road”, Sheikh Hasina said, quoting from poet Sunkanta Bhattacharya’s poem, Udayachal (From the east).

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina said she is seeking another five-year term in office to make development sustainable, work to improve people’s living standards and build a smart, developed Bangladesh free from hunger and poverty.

Hasina said during her Awami League government’s three consecutive terms (2009-2023) the country has witnessed the continuation of a “democratic trend and stability” in the process of building a people’s welfare-oriented society based on “equality and justice.”

“If we can form the government again by getting your valuable votes we will be able to continue with the implementation of the programs taken by us,” she said.

She added that this will give “us an opportunity to further improve your living condition.,” she added.