The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday (July 22) announced to hold a grand rally in Dhaka on July 27 to press home their demand of resignation of the current government, dissolution of parliament, reformation of the Election Commission (EC), non-partisan government during elections and fair and participatory elections.

The party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the announcement while addressing the youth’s rally organised by the associate organisations of the party -- Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal - at Suhrwardy Udyan in Dhaka as the chief guest in the afternoon.

Though the rally was scheduled to begin at 2:00pm, thousands of the party leaders and activists mainly belonging to the three organisations began to gather at the venue since morning.

The youth leaders and activists from various parts of Dhaka, wearing different coloured caps and carrying banners, festoons, placards and portraits of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, chairperson Khaleda Zia and acting chairman Tarique Rahman, gathered at the venue in processions.

They chanted anti-government slogans as they converged on Suhrawardy Udyan before the start of the rally under the scorching sun.

The youths’ rally was arranged with their main objective to involve the young generation in the street movement for establishing their rights.

On June 2, three BNP associate bodies announced six youth rallies in Chattogram, Bogura, Khulna, Barishal, Sylhet, and Dhaka to drum up the young generation’s support for the ongoing movement demanding holding the next polls under a caretaker government.