Ehsanul Haque Jasim :
Even after a month of the ongoing political impasse, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia is still rigid on her stance to continue the blockade. Rather, she will strengthen the movement for a result, said party insiders.
Sources said, the BNP-led 20-party alliance has sent message to its leaders and workers of the grassroots level to intensify the movement.
A BNP leader said, “Khaleda Zia is determined to continue the non-stop blockade throughout even the whole February. She believes that a positive result will come. So, she now wants to intensify the ongoing movement.”
Some leaders of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Islami Chhatra Shibir said that they had got message to remain active. As such, observers fear of more violence across the country in the coming days. BNP standing committee member Mahbubur Rahman has said that they will have no second option to intensifying the movement if the government dillydallies to accept their demand. Another standing committee member Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah said that the ongoing movement would continue until the downfall of the present Awami League-led government.
Khaleda Zia has already spent a month in her Gulshan office since January 3, while the current unrest began from January 4 centering a planned rally of the BNP-led alliance in the city on January 5, the first anniversary of 2014 one-sided Parliamentary election. Having failed to come out of the office, the BNP chief announced the ongoing blockade on January 5. She did not relax the blockade even after death of his younger son Arafat Rahman Koko. The Gulshan office sources said that after disconnection of utility services to the office, Khaleda Zia is now ready for the worst, but she won’t leave the office. She is optimistic of success of her movement and that is why she is ready to face any consequence to continue the movement, the sources added.
