Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia offered prayers at the shrines of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) and Hazrat Shah Paran (RA) on Monday evening.
The BNP chief’s motorcade reached Sylhet city at about 3:45pm and straight drove to Sylhet Circuit House at about 4:30pm. It was not an election campaign.
Khaleda left her Gulshan residence for Sylhet around 9:15am while her motorcade was scheduled to leave Sylhet for capital on Monday night, said General Secretary of Sylhet Mohanagar BNP Badruzzaman Selim.
BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury were accompanying Khaleda Zia in the visit, said Badruzzaman Selim.
About 35 cars including those of journalists were accompanying the BNP chief.
Police and Awami League and members of its several front organizations harassed BNP activists who gathered on road sides to greet party chairperson Khaleda Zia on her way to Sylhet to visit shrines, senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged.
The law enforcers also arrested BNP men in the capital and in Sylhet city ahead of the visit and upcoming verdict on Zia Orphanage case on February 8, he added.
Huge number of law enforcers were seen deployed at different important points on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway centering Khaleda zia’s Sylhet tour, he said.
Police also forced to shut road side hotel and restaurants to keep people away from gathering on the highway.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said that police did not allow their party leaders and activists to stand on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway to welcome their party chief.
He also alleged that police also detained party men trying to take positions on the highway while the ruling party men were staging demonstrations at such points in presence of police.
Khaleda went to Sylhet to pray at the shrines ahead of the verdict in the Orphanage case, according to him.
In Narayanganj Sakhawat Hossain Khan, vice-president of Narayanganj Metropolitan unit, and Deputy Joint Secretary for International Affairs Nazrul Islam Azad and eight others were arrested in Narayanganj.
In Narsingdi, a group of people shouting slogans in favour of Awami League and its election symbol ‘boat’ showed shoes and sandals when BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s motorcade was crossing Bhelanagr area on way to Sylhet.
Around one hundred rowdy people raised slogans of ‘boat’ in front of Narsingdi district jail in presence of huge police as Khaleda’s motorcade reached there around11:20am.
They showed shoes and sandals and also tried to attack a car of Juba Dal central leader Mahbubul Hasan Pinku but police resisted them.
Our Kishoreganj correspondent adds, BNP activists faced obstacles from the ruling party cadres and law enforcers while welcoming their chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia at Bhairab Port town and at several other points on way to Sylhet.
Several senior leaders of the Kishoreganj district BNP including its General Secretary Md. Mazharul Islam, Bhairab Upazila President Rafiqul Islam, were also harassed.
BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the chairperson was going to Sylhet only to offer fateha at the shrines.
He said Khaleda was not going to launch her party’s next election campaign from Sylhet like the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“The election will be held around a year from now so there is no scope to begin the election campaign now. How will she conduct the campaign since a level playing field is not yet created?” the BNP leader said.
Khasru alleged that the ruling party and its alliance partners have started their election campaign unilaterally without creating equal scope for all parties to do so.
He also claimed that more than 1000 leaders and activists were detained by police with out specific reasons.
