UNB, Dhaka :BNP on Monday alleged that government’s growing repressive acts to suppress the opposition prove that the regime is now under a tremendous public pressure for holding a fresh inclusive election, no matter what the ruling party leaders claim.”You (journalists) may not feel the pressure, but the government’s repressive policy suggests it’s under huge pressure,” said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.He came up with the remarks at a press briefing on the 20-party’s daylong hartal at the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office as a reporter sought his comment whether BNP thinks it has failed to mount pressure on the government for holding a fresh election as the ruling party leaders often claim they do not feel any public pressure for snap polls.Fakhrul said the government is resorting to repressive acts having failed to give their illegitimate power a legitimate colour and cover in any way. He further alleged that the government is becoming more brutal and repressive gradually in fear of losing power.The BNP spokesman claimed that the government is now carrying out various subversive acts before and during the hartal as part of its plot and old style to divert their peaceful movement a different direction.”The government through its agents carrying out sabotage and violent attacks on people centring our democratic programme only to shift the blame on the pro-hartal activists,” he observed. Fakhrul claimed that the government agents as part of their dirty plots killed school teacher Shamsunnahar in Noakhali. He condemned the incident and demanded the government immediately arrest and mete out punishment to those involved in it.Fakhrul said people spontaneously took to the streets across the country in favour of their hartal defying and foiling obstructions and repression by law enforcers and ruling party ‘cadres’.He on behalf of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia greeted people for making the hartal a success.The BNP-led 20-party alliance enforced the nationwide from shutdown programme in protest against the ‘foiling’ of its Gazipur rally and demanding the release of its arrested senior leaders and it was marked with stray incidents of violence, leaving the female schoolteacher dead in Noakhali.The BNP leader said police arrested over 342 opposition leaders and activists across the country during the hartal hours, while more than 110 were injured in attacks by law enforcers.The BNP leader further claimed that three activists were also sentenced to different terms of imprisonment by mobile courts. Asked about their next course of action, Fakhrul said they will announce their fresh programmes at the right time.He condemned the police efforts to search English daily the New Age on Sunday night and claimed that it was made to intimidate its fearless editor Nurul Kabir. Fakhrul alleged that the government got angry with the New Age editor as he is continuing his constructive and sharp criticism of it despite various threats.
