Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has announced a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal for January 6 and 7.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary general of the party, announced the program through a virtual press conference on Thursday (January 4).

He said that the BNP and like-minded parties will observe a 48-hour hartal from 6 am on January 6 (Saturday) to 6 am on January 8 (Monday) 6 am.

Apart from this, BNP will hold a procession and mass communication program on Friday (January 5).

On Monday, the BNP extended its mass contact and leaflet distribution programme until Thursday.

On 24 December, the major opposition party announced a three-day mass contact and leaflet distribution programme beginning on 26 December. Later, the programme was extended thrice.

The BNP along with nearly three dozen opposition political parties have been carrying out a simultaneous movement since 10 December 2022 to force the current government to quit and hold the 12th parliamentary election under a non-party neutral administration.

BNP’s movement lost its momentum following clashes with law enforcers centring the party’s grand rally on 28 October as many senior leaders, including its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were arrested while many others went into hiding in the face of a crackdown by the law enforcers.

However, the BNP and like-minded parties enforced countrywide blockades for 23 days in 12 phases and hartals for five days in four spells since 28 October.

Finally, the opposition party came up with the call for a non-cooperation movement on 20 December.

BDST: 1708 HRS, JAN 04, 2024
MSK/SMS