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Download PDF Awami League (AL) yesterday vowed to resist any poll under the state of emergency while reiterating its demand for holding the parliamentary poll before upazila elections.
AL will not allow any poll under the state of emergency, it will not take part in upazila polls if held before the parliamentary election, and will also not let anyone else to participate either, said AL Acting President Zillur Rahman yesterday while taking part in a nationwide token hunger strike for pressing home AL demands.
“Although political parties have been demanding total withdrawal of the emergency for long, the government has not been paying any heed,” he complained.
He was addressing a group of hunger strikers in AL chief Sheikh Hasina’s political office in Dhanmondi of the capital. At the end of the token strike that went on from 11:00am to 4:00pm, Zillur offered fruit juice to his fellow strikers for breaking the fast of protest.
The demands that sparked the five-hour long hunger strike include demands for making Hasina’s release permanent, holding of the parliamentary election before upazila polls, immediate curbing of soaring prices of essentials, and introduction of a countrywide rationing system.
Zillur alleged that the plan to hold upazila polls ahead of the parliamentary election is ‘a part of a conspiracy’. He asked the government to take immediate initiatives to curb the soaring prices of essentials, saying the country is passing through a latent famine, with many people passing their days in starvation.
The AL leader also demanded that the government makes Hasina’s release permanent.
In some districts AL leaders demanded that the military backed caretaker government gives up state power immediately ‘for failing to control price hikes of daily essentials’.
AL central leaders and the party’s advisory council members went on the strike in Hasina’s political office while its city unit and front organisations gathered in its central office on Bangabandhu Avenue.
Addressing the hunger strikers, AL Presidium Member Amir Hossain Amu threatened to launch tougher movements to press home their demands.
Another Presidium Member Tofail Ahmed alleged that the caretaker government has totally failed to fulfil public demands, adding that an unelected government cannot solve the problems of the people.
Motia Chowdhury, another presidium member, said the government is actually not interested in lifting the emergency, as it wants to stay in power.
Party leaders Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Mukul Bose, Abdul Mannan, Asaduzzaman Noor, and Col (retd) Faruk Khan also took part in the hunger strike among others.
The strike was also observed in Rajshahi, Pabna, Barisal, Thakurgoan, Dinajpur, and Sylhet, according to our local correspondents.
Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), student wing of AL, observed the token strike on Dhaka University campus.
July 20th, 2008 at 5:00 am
Its sounds cool mate!>>>>>>>>>>>> But for how long? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Are we having another Loggi Boita demo? >>>>>>>>>>>>>> We need Mr Jalil to call the nation, by the way where is he?