UNB, Dhaka: The BNP-led 20-party alliance on Thursday announced a countrywide demonstration programme for Saturday, demanding fresh polls under a non-party administration and ‘restoration of democracy and people’s voting rights’. In a statement, BNP joint secretary general Salahuddin Ahmed, on behalf of the alliance, announced the programme, saying it will be observed alongside the 20-party’s ongoing transport blockade. He warned that the 20-party will also enforce an all-out hartal programme and other harsher programmes together with the blockade from Sunday if the government does not accept their demands by the time. Salahuddin said the 20-party men will peacefully stage the demonstrations in all thanas, pourasavas, district towns and divisional cities also to press home their demand for releasing all the arrested 20-party’s senior leaders and political prisoners. The demonstration programme is also meant for registering the alliance’s protest against killing, crippling and hurting of many opposition leaders and activists through crossfire and police firing, mass arrest of 20-party men and general people, interference in the judiciary, violence against journalists and control on media. The alliance for the first time announced any such alternative action programme to hartal since it enforced a non-stop transport blockade from January 6. The 20-party has already enforced hartal in several spells amid the transport blockade. The fresh spell of the hartal that began at 6am Sunday will end 6am on Friday.
