Opposition political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have held mass protests in Dhaka today, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They are calling for the handover of power to a caretaker government before the elections, which are expected to be held in January.
The nation's ruling Awami League party has announced its own "peace rally," warning that any attempts to trigger violence would be quelled. 25,000 policemen, alongside 2,500 members of the Rapid Action Battalion were deployed in Dhaka for the political rallies.
MIRZA ABBAS Standing Committee Member Bangladesh Nationalist Party "Our movement has developed gradually, this movement is not a one-day movement. It has reached this stage today at the cost of many lives, disappearances, murders and sacrifices. We have held rallies and grand rallies before. These are political systems. Now we have reached the final stage of the movement. Our movement is moving according to the demands and needs of the people. We have no personal or party interests here."
JAHANGIR KABIR NANAK Presidium Member, Awami League "The 12th National Assembly election is near. Keeping this election in front of us, we are making strong preparations for it. The BNP is preparing to resist the election. They want to thwart the vote. There are two different schools of thought between them and us. BNP tried in 2014 to prevent the election, to obstruct the vote but they did not succeed. There was a lot of damage to property and lives."
