A few thousand people gathered in BNP's mass sit-in rally: Hasan

Information and Broadcasting Minister and Awami League (AL) Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said BNP is now an isolated party as the people and even their activists do not respond to their call.

"BNP and their like-mined parties observed mass sit-in programme in Dhaka city yesterday (January 11). They were making statements centering the programme for the last couple of days. But later the countrymen have witnessed that a few hundred people gathered in 52 parties' programme. On the other hand, a few thousand people gathered in BNP's rally. It was like 'empty vessel sounds much', he said.

The minister said this while exchanging views with journalists at the meeting room of his ministry at the Secretariat in the capital.

Hasan said BNP's statements do not match with the reality. The reality is that even BNP's activists didn't take part in the programmes though they brought people from different parts of the country, he added.

Over the BNP's upcoming protest rallies across the country on January 16, the minister said, "We remained alert on January 11 in Dhaka. We will remain alert on January 16 too. If they (BNP) want to carry out any violence, then it will be resisted along with the common people. No one will be allowed to destroy the country's peace, stability, order and public life".

Replying to a query over the release of BNP's two senior leaders, Hasan said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas were released through legal process and it is proved that the country's judicial is totally independent. BNP's allegations over judicial systems have been proved false through their bail, he added.

He said the BNP leader Mirza Abbas has said that they don't want to push the government and they want to topple it through elections. "We are also telling them to come in polls and check popularity. We will run the state if the people want," said Hasan.