BNP to enforce 36-hour blockade from Tuesday

The BNP and like-minded parties have announced a 36-hour road-rail-waterway blockade across Bangladesh starting from Tuesday morning to protest the schedule for the next national election announced by the Election Commission. 

It will be the 11th round of the blockade program of the opposition parties since October 31.

The blockade will begin at 6am on Tuesday and end at 6pm on Wednesday.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary general of the party, announced the program at a virtual press conference. 

Press vehicles, ambulances, and oxygen-carrying vehicles can be operational.

Rizvi claimed that the government is trying to conduct the election on January 7 in its own way.  As part of this, mass arrests are taking place, torture is going on inside and outside prisons.

Rizvi added that there is only one reason for all this, and that is to instill fear in the minds of the voters.

He also said that the Awami League does not accept opposing views. “Therefore, today in Dhaka and other parts of the country, various forces of the government are obstructing the human chain program and torturing the workers for no reason.”

After enforcing countrywide blockades in 10 phases and hartal in three phases for the last one and a half months since October 29, BNP announced a human chain program on Sunday marking International Human Rights Day.