BNP affiliates organize a long march from Dhaka to Akhaura land port

Leaders and activists of Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, and Chhatra Dal concluded a long march from Dhaka to the Akhaura land port on Wednesday afternoon with a rally. 

The initiative, organized by the three affiliate organizations of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), protested against the attack on Bangladesh’s assistant high commission in Agartala, the desecration of the Bangladesh flag, and disinformation campaigns and conspiracies originating from the neighboring country. 

Extensive security measures were implemented in the land port area to prevent any untoward incidents. Members of the police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and village police were deployed in three layers. Leaders and activists from nearby districts, including Brahmanbaria, Cumilla, Feni, Noakhali, and Sylhet, participated in the program, carrying festoons, party flags, and national flags.

During a visit to the area in the afternoon, law enforcement was observed setting up barricades 100–150 yards from the main gate of the land port. Village police were stationed near the road adjacent to the land port field, while international travelers were seen walking to the immigration check post under the watch of BGB personnel. By 4:00 PM, only 28 Bangladeshi and 24 Indian nationals had crossed through the Akhaura immigration point, a significantly lower number than usual.

Lt. Col. AM Jaber Bin Jabbar, commanding officer of BGB battalion-60, stated that a sufficient number of BGB personnel had been deployed at the land port, with additional troops on standby. The long march began from the BNP central office in Naya Paltan around 9:00 AM, over an hour later than the scheduled time.

During a pre-rally gathering, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi emphasized the importance of safeguarding Bangladesh’s independence at all costs. “We earned our independence through blood. Will we now sell it? We wrested independence from Pindi, not to surrender it to Delhi,” he declared. 

Rizvi accused India of being uncomfortable with self-governed nations like Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. “Why should we follow their dictates?” he asked, adding that the rulers in Delhi fail to grasp the resilience and bravery of the Bangladeshi people.