The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday announced a ‘grand rally’ in Dhaka city for July 27 to press home their one-point demand for holding the next general election under a neutral government ousting the incumbent.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the announcement at the youths’ rally organised by the associate organisations of the party — Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal — at Suhrwardy Udyan in Dhaka.

On June 2, the three BNP associate bodies announced six youth rallies in Chattogram, Bogura, Khulna, Barishal, Sylhet, and Dhaka to drum up the young generation’s support for the ongoing movement for holding the next general election under a caretaker government.

Addressing the rally Fakhrul said that the Awami League was a party of cowards and they were are afraid of going for elections under a neutral government.

The government is telling foreigners that they will give free and fair elections, but before the elections, they are emptying the electoral field by filing fictitious cases against BNP leaders and activists, he alleged.

Fakhrul said that people would not tolerate this plot. Urging the government to resign immediately, Fakhrul said that all the opposition parties were now in the simultaneous oust-the-government movement.

All of the parties are saying that no fair election is possible under the AL government, he said.

‘Today, all the opposition parties who are in the movement with us, the Jatiya Party who are the opposition in the parliament, Islami Andolon Bangladesh and the Communist Party are saying that no fair election is possible under this government. So resign without further delay,’ Fakhrul said.

The government is continuing the injustice while democratic states are sanctioning them for human rights violations, he said.

The BNP secretary general said that this government was clinging to power violating the constitution.

‘The government is talking huge and claiming that when it comes to power, democracy comes, the people get their rights back. But, the people have seen how the parliament was constituted with unelected people in 2014 and 2018. How did the voting take place at night? This government put a gun to the neck of the court and cancelled the caretaker government system overnight,’ he said.

The Awami League can never win any fair election as they have done a lot of damage to the country, he said.

‘They have established one-party rule in the country. They are anti-democracy and anti-Liberation War,’ Fakhrul said.

Fakhrul demanded the release of all the detained leaders, including Khaleda Zia, BNP leaders Rafiqul Alam Majnu, Saiful Islam Nirab, Sheikh Rabiul Alam Rajiv, Abdul Monayem Munna, Yusuf bin Jalil Kalu, SM Jahangir, Mia Nuruddin Apu, Golam Mawla Shaheen, Habibul Islam Habib and Zainal Hossain.

Presided by Juba Dal president Sultan Salauddin Tuku, the rally was also addressed, among others, by BNP Dhaka Metropolitan North convener Aman Ullah Aman, south convener Abdus Salam, Swechchhasebak Dal president SM Jilani, Chhatra Dal president Kazi Rawanakul Islam Shraban, BNP organising secretaries Syed Emran Saleh Prince, Shama Obaid and Abdus Salam Azad. Juba Dal acting general secretary Shafiqul Islam Milton, Swechchhasebak Dal general secretary Rajib Ahsan, Chhatra Dal general secretary Saif Mahmud Jewel jointly conducted the rally.