Some Awami league-backed miscreants on Saturday attacked the central leaders of the national committee and foiled a rally at Badshahganj in Netrokona.
A team of the central committee of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources,
Power and Ports joined a spontaneous rally there on their way to Saifurhati, the junction of Netrokona and Sunamganj, to join their scheduled rally there.
But the local administration imposed Section 144 there as the local unit of the Awami League had suddenly declared that it would stage a rally in the same venue, claimed a press statement of the national committee.
The committee leaders were addressing the rally in Badshahganj when a group of unidentified miscreants, backed by Awami League's leaders and activists, attacked the rally in presence of the police when the member secretary of the committee, Anu Muhammad, was delivering his address.
The attackers threatened the participants with dire consequences and told them to leave the venue, claimed the national committee.
Anu Muhammad condemned the attack and said that the national committee would not refrain from carrying out its protest programmes in spite of any attack or threat.
He called on the people to be united against the 'conspiracy' of the government to sell the nation's gas to foreigners.
The committee's central leaders — Ruhin Hossain Prince, Bazlur Rashid Firoz, Jonayed Saki, Moshtak Hassan, Mehedi Hasan and local readers Anisur Rahman and Rahman Mizan — were among those who participated in the rally.
The committee's leaders met the local police officials and demanded punishment of the attackers.
The national committee had scheduled a rally in Saifurhati and the local leaders had earlier taken permission to hold the rally, they claimed.
The convener of the committee, Sheikh Muhammad Shaheedullah, in a press statement condemned the attack and demanded punishment of the assailants.
The president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Manzurul Ahsan Khan, and general secretary, Mujahidul
Islam Selim, also condemned the attack and demanded punishments of the attackers.
The central coordination committee of the Ganasanghai Andolan also denounced the attack by the ruling party's men on a peaceful rally of the national committee.
Source : New Age
