JOF again denied permission for Oct 24 rally

The Sylhet Metropolitan Police on Saturday denied the newly formed Jatiya Oikya Front permission to hold its first rally in Sylhet on October 24 to launch their campaign for a free and fair general election under a party-neutral government.
District Bangladesh Nationalist Party general secretary Ali Ahmed, also a local leader of the front, told New Age that they had submitted a new application to the Sylhet Metropolitan Police commissioner at the noon seeking permission for the rally on Registrar Ground in Sylhet scheduled on Wednesday. 
‘The police denied us the permission to hold the rally on security ground,’ he said, adding that the police earlier denied them permission to hold the rally initially scheduled for October 23. 
Sylhet Metropolitan Police additional commissioner, however, said in the evening that they were yet to give any decision as a group of leaders came to the office with an application at about the noon.
‘We told them that our decision would be informed them later,’ he said. 
Earlier on Wednesday, a 5-member team of the Sylhet BNP submitted an application to police commissioner Golam Kibria for permission to hold the rally on the Registrar Ground on October 23. 
The police denied them permission to hold the rally on security ground, the alliance leaders alleged. 
Ali Ahmed said that the front leaders would visit Sylhet on October 24 and offer Fateha at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal and Hazrat Shah Paran and the graveside of the armed forces chief during the Liberation War in 1971 MAG Osmani.
The front on Wednesday at a meeting held in alliance leader ASM Rob’s house decided to launch the alliance activities through a rally in Sylhet on October 23. 
In another meeting held at the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s office at Gulshan in Dhaka on Wednesday, they also decided to hold rally in Chattogram on October 27 and in Rajshahi on October 30 for the alliance’s seven-point demands. 
On October 13, BNP, Jatiya Oikya Prakriya, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal led by ASM Rob and Nagarik Andolan launched the new alliance Jatiya Oikya Front led by Gana Forum president Dr Kamal Hossain.
The Jatiya Oikya Front announced 11-point objectives and 7-point demands, including resignation of the government, dissolution of parliament and formation of polls-time neutral government through discussion with all political parties.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net