Dhaka: Bangladesh’s main opposition party BNP on Thursday called for a 48-hour nationwide general strike starting Saturday to demand the resignation of the “illegal government” of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and to protest against the January 7 general election, which it is boycotting.
Led by former prime minister Khalida Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is boycotting the general election on Sunday. It is demanding an interim non-party neutral government to hold the election. The demand was rejected by the government headed by Prime Minister Hasina, who is heading the ruling Awami League.
BNP Joint Senior Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the general strike at a press conference on Thursday.
“The 48-hour hartal will be observed from 6 am on January 6, to 6 am on January 8,” Rizvi said in a virtual press conference as last-minute preparations were underway for the 12th general elections.
The strike calls for the “resignation of the illegal government, establishment of a non-party neutral government and release of all party leaders and activists from prison,” he said.
The BNP aims to garner support for its non-cooperation movement against the Awami Party-led dispensation through the strike.
It has urged people not to pay taxes and utility bills to press its demand for a non-party interim government for election oversight by amending the country’s
Constitution.