Badrul Ahsan :
The ruling party leaders have urged the BNP to return to the path of peaceful politics shunning the path of violence.
They also called for oust BNP Chief Begum Khaleda Zia to become a real opposition party.
The leaders said this while addressing rallies of Awami League on Tuesday at Bangabandhu Avenue and some other places in the city in celebration of the second anniversary of January 5 general elections.
Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam told the rally that there was no alternative to January 5 general elections and termed the day as ‘Victory Day for Democracy’.
“64 people were killed, around 700 vehicles torched or damaged in arson and a loss of around Tk 7,150 crore occurred during the non-stop hartal and blockade enforced by BNP from January 6 to April, 2015,” he said.
AL general secretary also told the gathering that the party will hold a spontaneous rally on the occasion of Bangabandhu’s homecoming day on January 10.
Addressing another rally at city’s Russel Square Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said that BNP should remove its Chairperson Khaleda Zia from leadership.
“BNP should reorganise excluding Khaleda. Only then people will treat them as real opposition,” he told the gathering.
Defending the January 5 elections, Mohammad Nasim said: “Martial Law would have prevailed in the country if the elections were not held.”
In his speech, Suranjit Sengupta called upon the BNP to come to the path of democracy, participate in the next general elections, and cut off all political ties with Jamaat-e-Islami.
Leaders and activists of Awami League took part in rallies at Russel Square, Bangabandhu Avenue, south gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque and some other important places in the city to celebrate the second anniversary of the January 3 general elections and the ‘Victory Day for Democracy’.
AL senior leaders Syed Ashraful Islam, Mohammad Nasim, Suranjit Sengupta, Mahbub-Ul-Alam Hanif, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury have joined the rallies, among others.
