M M Jasim :The first phase of the Bishwa Ijtema starts from Friday at Tongi in Gazipur district. Thousands of devotees have already arrived there despite the underway countrywide non-stop blockade. But many of devotees fear to come as BNP-Jamaat men have created panic by vandalising and setting fire on buses and blasting cocktails all over the country.The BNP Chairperson has not yet taken any decision as to whether the blockade would be withdrawn in view of the Bishwa Ijtema, world’s second largest congregation of Muslim Ummah after Hajj. On the other hand, the government has said that it would provide all kinds of the securities and assistance so that the devotees can reach there safely. The Ijtema will start on January 9.65-year old Alamgir Hossain from Comilla told The New Nation that he faced lots of problems to reach the Ijtema ground. There was snapped bus service between Comilla and Dhaka. He said that the BNP should withdraw the blockade. Alamgir Hossain also demanded the BNP for rethinking about the blockade during the Ijtema. Newaz Elahi, a 55-year old man from Khulna, said that they had come to Dhaka by a reserved bus. But blockade hampered them to reach Ijtema place smoothly. He urged the government and the BNP leaders to stop such politics, which hampers the people’s movement. The police high-ups on Wednesday said they would do everything for the Ijtema goers. They hoped that they could serve the Ijtema devotees. Meanwhile, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Wednesday announced that the blockade of highways, railways and waterways would continue until further directive.Contrarily most of the BNP leaders are in a fix whether to carry on with the programme or to take rest in view of the Ijtema because the party leaders now believe that they have gained quite a bit of momentum.Then again, there are also fears that if Ijtema gets hampered because of their political programmes, the party will have to pay price for it.On Monday, a delegation from the Tablig-e-Jamaat met Khaleda in her Gulshan office to invite her to attend but there was no discussion. The three member delegation, led by Abdur Rahim talked to Khaleda’s Special Assistant Shamshur Rahman Shimul Biswas, her Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan and some others.According to sources, BNP leaders told the Ijtema delegation that Khaleda Zia fell ill after police sprayed pepper on Monday and that is why she would not be able to talk. The BNP leaders advised the Ijtema delegates to talk to the government. If the government creates a normal situation, there will be no blockade.After some times, another Ijtema delegation led by Iftekhar Ahmed went to meet the BNP chief but police did not allow them.
