Al-zakir
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Fri, Jun 10th, 2011 11:46 am BdST
Dhaka, June 10 (bdnews24.com)BNP and its main ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami have called a nonstop 36-hour lockdown across the country from Sunday morning, the second in eight days.
The opposition parties announced the protest programme, to be enforced from 6am on Sunday to 6pm on Monday, from separate media briefings at their party offices in the city on Friday morning.
They called the general strike to protest the government plan to annul the non-party caretaker government system and the 51 recommendations of the special parliamentary committee on constitution amendment in parliament.
The parties enforced a daylong general strike on the caretaker government issue on June 5.
BNP acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the news briefing said the shutdown was declared also to protest against government bids to remove "faith in almighty Allah" from the constitution, 'worsening relations with the Muslim world', high price of essentials, deterioration of law and order, gas-power-water crises and failure to stop stocks debacle. [/COLOR]
Jamaat acting secretary-general A T M Azharul Islam at its briefing at Moghbazar headquarters said the shutdown was called to press home their 14-point charter of demands.
The government was abolishing the caretaker government system to prevent its 'certain debacle' in the next general elections, Azhar said. "The government is trying to make Bangladesh a 'religion-less' state in the name of constitution amendment."
A faction of Islami Oikya Jote headed by Fazlul Haque Amini at a press briefing has extended support to the lockdown.
Central Olama Mashayekh from a rally at Baitul Mokarram on Friday noon also announced a 12-hour countrywide shutdown from 6am on Sunday protesting the government plan to erase "faith in the almighty Allah" from the constitution. The special parliamentary panel, formed last year, submitted the recommendations in parliament on Wednesday. The suggestions include annulment of the caretaker government system.
On the same day, BNP chief Khaleda Zia held emergency meetings with the party's standing committee and the like-minded parties.
BNP has been demanding that the next general elections be held under non-party interim government and warned that it would not take part in any polls if those are held without caretakers overseeing them.
Referring to the May 10 Supreme Court judgement repealing the 13th amendment to the constitution that had introduced the caretaker provision, prime minister Sheikh Hasina on May 31 said there was no scope to retain the system.
She, however, on Wednesday urged the BNP to discuss the crucial issue in the House and find out a better alternative to the unelected government system.
The apex court in its judgment also said the next two general elections could be held under unelected rulers and gave parliament the liberty to decide the issue.
BNP is pressing the government for full implementation of the court verdict.
OUT OF HARTAL PURVIEW
Fakhrul said hartal will not be enforced in areas where Union Parishad polls would be held on Sunday.
Ambulances, fire-fighting vehicles, city corporation's garbage-collection vehicles, media vehicles, food shops, pharmacies and hospitals would also remain out of the purview of the hartal, he added.
BUDGET USELESS
Jamaat said the proposed budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year was an ambitious one and it would not solve the "financial crisis of the people".
Azhar said the government's increased dependency on banks, as proposed in the budget, would fuel inflation, further adding to the people's woes.
He also criticised the proposal to widen the indirect tax ceiling.
The BNP in its reaction on the proposed budged on Thursday evening said the proposed budget did not reflect people's hopes and aspirations.
Speaking to reporters, party's standing committee member M K Anwar expressed his doubts over the implementation of the budget proposals.
"According to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific and the Centre for Policy Dialogue, the average growth rate of Bangladesh for the current fiscal will be 6.2 to 6.3 percent, but the government claims it to be 6.7 percent. It's not believable," he said.
bdnews24.com/sm/si/kt/pks/sht/bd/1410h
Dhaka, June 10 (bdnews24.com)BNP and its main ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami have called a nonstop 36-hour lockdown across the country from Sunday morning, the second in eight days.
The opposition parties announced the protest programme, to be enforced from 6am on Sunday to 6pm on Monday, from separate media briefings at their party offices in the city on Friday morning.
They called the general strike to protest the government plan to annul the non-party caretaker government system and the 51 recommendations of the special parliamentary committee on constitution amendment in parliament.
The parties enforced a daylong general strike on the caretaker government issue on June 5.
BNP acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the news briefing said the shutdown was declared also to protest against government bids to remove "faith in almighty Allah" from the constitution, 'worsening relations with the Muslim world', high price of essentials, deterioration of law and order, gas-power-water crises and failure to stop stocks debacle. [/COLOR]
Jamaat acting secretary-general A T M Azharul Islam at its briefing at Moghbazar headquarters said the shutdown was called to press home their 14-point charter of demands.
The government was abolishing the caretaker government system to prevent its 'certain debacle' in the next general elections, Azhar said. "The government is trying to make Bangladesh a 'religion-less' state in the name of constitution amendment."
A faction of Islami Oikya Jote headed by Fazlul Haque Amini at a press briefing has extended support to the lockdown.
Central Olama Mashayekh from a rally at Baitul Mokarram on Friday noon also announced a 12-hour countrywide shutdown from 6am on Sunday protesting the government plan to erase "faith in the almighty Allah" from the constitution. The special parliamentary panel, formed last year, submitted the recommendations in parliament on Wednesday. The suggestions include annulment of the caretaker government system.
On the same day, BNP chief Khaleda Zia held emergency meetings with the party's standing committee and the like-minded parties.
BNP has been demanding that the next general elections be held under non-party interim government and warned that it would not take part in any polls if those are held without caretakers overseeing them.
Referring to the May 10 Supreme Court judgement repealing the 13th amendment to the constitution that had introduced the caretaker provision, prime minister Sheikh Hasina on May 31 said there was no scope to retain the system.
She, however, on Wednesday urged the BNP to discuss the crucial issue in the House and find out a better alternative to the unelected government system.
The apex court in its judgment also said the next two general elections could be held under unelected rulers and gave parliament the liberty to decide the issue.
BNP is pressing the government for full implementation of the court verdict.
OUT OF HARTAL PURVIEW
Fakhrul said hartal will not be enforced in areas where Union Parishad polls would be held on Sunday.
Ambulances, fire-fighting vehicles, city corporation's garbage-collection vehicles, media vehicles, food shops, pharmacies and hospitals would also remain out of the purview of the hartal, he added.
BUDGET USELESS
Jamaat said the proposed budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year was an ambitious one and it would not solve the "financial crisis of the people".
Azhar said the government's increased dependency on banks, as proposed in the budget, would fuel inflation, further adding to the people's woes.
He also criticised the proposal to widen the indirect tax ceiling.
The BNP in its reaction on the proposed budged on Thursday evening said the proposed budget did not reflect people's hopes and aspirations.
Speaking to reporters, party's standing committee member M K Anwar expressed his doubts over the implementation of the budget proposals.
"According to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific and the Centre for Policy Dialogue, the average growth rate of Bangladesh for the current fiscal will be 6.2 to 6.3 percent, but the government claims it to be 6.7 percent. It's not believable," he said.
bdnews24.com/sm/si/kt/pks/sht/bd/1410h
