BNP holds first V-Day rally in 4 yrs

BNP today brought out Victory Day rally, the party’s first in the last four years, in Dhaka to celebrate the country’s 45th Victory Day.

Several thousand BNP men including its central leaders gathered in front of its Nayapaltan central office before the colourful procession started marching towards Malibagh around 3:00pm.

Carrying national flags, placards, banners and portraits of late president Ziaur Rahman, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and party’s Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman, the party men attended the rally that ended peacefully at Malibagh intersection amid tight security.

Flanked with the party’s leaders, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir took part in the rally riding a truck. However, no standing committee members of the party were seen at the programme.

The party last brought out V-Day rally in Dhaka in 2011 marking the 41st Victory Day, Shamimur Rahman, an assistant office secretary of BNP, told The Daily Star.

Talking to The Daily Star, BNP leaders claimed that they could not organise such programmes on the Victory Day in the last four years as the government “did not give them permission.”

Before the start of today’s rally, Fakhrul instructed the party men to hold the programme in a peaceful manner.

In a brief speech, Fakhrul vowed to “restore” democracy in the country through “peaceful and systematic” movement.