Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday announced a countrywide dawn to dusk hartal on June 27 demanding ensuring supply of gas, electricity and water, and also protesting extortion, terrorism, and tender-manipulation by activists of Awami League front organizations.
The main opposition also called the hartal protesting politicisation of administration and judiciary, and violation of girl students at different educational institutions as well as demanding scrapping of agreements signed with India during the Prime Minister's recent visit, resignation of the biased Election Commission, reducing the prices of essentials and removing the sufferings of people.
This was the first countrywide hartal called by opposition BNP against the 16-month-old Awami League-led grand alliance government.
Khaleda also announced a mass sit-in in front of Engineers Institute in the city from 10 am-2 pm on June 9, protesting the government's "interference with the judiciary and appointing inept judges in the Supreme Court", demanding independence of judiciary and ensuring fair justice to all.
She also announced that on June 17 there will be countrywide demonstration rallies and protest processions in cities, districts and upazilas, demanding trial of the killings of journalists, protesting attack on and filing of cases against journalists, closing private TV channels and government embargo on TV talk show.
Leader of the opposition and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia declared the 3-day anti-government program from the Dhaka divisional grand rally at the city's historic Paltan Maidan.
BBN/SS/SI/AD-20May10-11:07 am (BST)