Shawdesh Desk:

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has started their second march from Uttara’s Abdullahpur to Jatrabari as part of their one-point movement with the goal to remove Awami League from power to hold the upcoming general election under a neutral government.

BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas formally inaugurated the programme in front of Polwel Market at Uttara’s Abdullahpur minutes after 11:05am on Wednesday.

Thousands of leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies joined the march programme for the second day in row under the scorching sun.

A similar programme is supposed to be held in all other metropolitan cities and district towns today.

In a brief address, Abbas said that ruling party leaders and activists were creating chaos in the name of ‘peace procession’ countering BNP’s peaceful programmes.

He alleged that the Awami League cadres attacked BNP’s peaceful march programme in different parts of the country on Tuesday, killing a man and injuring many others.

Abbas said that their party leaders and activists had been subjected to repression for 15 years. ‘We’ll no longer tolerate the repressive acts. We’ll come up with a fitting reply.’

He also said that they would restore the voting rights of people and force the current regime to hold the next election under a neutral interim government.

The party’s Tuesday’s march was marked by violent clashes with police and Awami League activists across the country that left at least one man dead and several hundred people injured.

BNP’s march also came under attack near Mirpur’s Govt Bangla college in the capital, resulting in a clash between the supporters of the ruling and opposition parties.

Alongside the BNP, Ganatantra Mancha, 12-party alliance, Jatiyatabadi Samomona Jote, the Liberal Democratic Party, Gonoforum and People’s Party, Labour Party, Gono Odhikar Parishad Gonotantrik Bam Oikya, Samomona Gonotantrik Peshajibi Jote and Sadaran Chhatra Odhikar Sanrakshan Parishad are also scheduled to stage marches in the city’s different areas.

On July 12, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir formally announced a ‘one-point’ movement with the goal to remove Awami League from power to hold the upcoming national elections under a neutral government.

As part of the first programme to realise the one-point demand, he also announced a two-day countrywide march programme for July 18 and 19.

BNP and 36 other parties are likely to announce fresh programmes of their one-point movement today.

The opposition’s one-point demand includes the resignation of the current Awami League government, dissolution of the existing parliament, formation of a polls-time ‘impartial’ government and reconstitution of the Election Commission for arranging a free, fair and inclusive election, the release of all ‘political prisoners’, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, withdrawal of all ‘false’ cases, including those against Tarique Rahman, and annulment of all ‘false convictions’.