BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that the broadcasting policy was formulated with a view to suppress the freedom of expression. The ruling Awami League government has hit media first to cling to the power forever, he said addressing a rally at the Suhrawardy Uddyan in the capital city on Tuesday. Mirza Fakhrul termed the broadcasting policy as a blow to the media and said the Awami League has made several amendments to the Constitution to consolidate its power. He also criticised the government’s latest move to amend the Constitution to give MPs the power to impeach the judges. This amendment was initiated in a bid to control the judiciary to retain the power, he said, urging all to wage a strong movement against the government. The BNP-led 20-party alliance arranged the rally demanding the cancellation of the ‘National Broadcast Policy 2014’. The alliance held the rally amid heavy rainfall.Hundreds of thousands leaders and workers of alliance from different parts of the city joined the rally ignoring the heavy rain. BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia could not attend the rally. The rally began at 3:00pm with recitation from the holy Quran. Leaders and workers of the alliance started gathering at the venue since noon with small processions from different parts of the city. The alliance also held similar rallies in divisional and district headquarters.The rain pounded the crowds at the Suhrawardy Uddyan within half hour of the commencement of the rally. During 30 minutes of the heavy downpour, alliance supporters were seen getting scattered looking for shelter. Although heavy downpour was continued for about half hour, drizzling was continued till the end of the rally at the evening. Dhaka city unit BNP convener Mirza Abbas presided over the rally where BNP senior leaders and top leaders of the alliance partners addressed. Among them, BNP senior leaders Barrister Moudud Ahmed, ASM Hannan Shah and MK Anwar, chairman of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Col (Retd) Oli Ahmed, Jamaat nayebe ameer Prof Mujibur Rahman, ameer of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Principal Maulana Mohammad Ishak, chairman of Islami Oikya Jote Maulana Abdul Latif Nejami, Jamaat central leader Md Selim Uddin, chairman of a faction of Bangladesh Jatiya Party Barrister Andalib Rahman Pertha, president of Jatiya Gonotantrik Party (Jagpa) Shafiul Alam Prodhan, chairman of Bangladesh NAP Jebel Rahman Ghani and president of Bangladesh Islamic Party Advocate Abdul Mobin. Khaleda Zia was scheduled to join the rally around 4:00 pm, but she did not attend the rally due to the rainfall. The banner on the podium mentioned Khaleda Zia as the chief guest. A special chair was kept reserved in the centre of the podium for her. About Khaleda Zia’s absence, Mirza Abbas said that the BNP chief could not join the rally due to her illness. He sought apology on behalf of Khaleda Zia. He also thanked the alliance supporters for joining the rally despite the downpour. Huge law enforcers were deployed in and around the rally venue. Earlier on Monday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) gave the permission for holding the rally with 12 conditions. The conditions include not using any provocative words and carrying any sticks, large banners and concluding the rally before sunset.Heavy police presence was seen around the rally stage and the venue. A huge number of Jamaa-Shibir activists were seen among the alliance supporters at the venue. The rally venue was covered with different banners and festoons bearing images and greetings from different party leaders. Some banners were also seen demanding the release of Daily Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman.
