BNP rallies in Tongi against sabotage amid garment worker unrest

Leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated organisations held a protest march and street rally in Tongi, Gazipur, against the ongoing unrest, vandalism and sabotage in the industrial area surrounding garment workers' demand for a minimum wage of Tk 30,000.

The programme was held on Wednesday morning (4 November) in the Tongi Station Road area on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, with a large number of BNP and affiliated organisation activists taking part. The march went around several key points on the highway before returning to Station Road, where it ended with a brief street rally.

Addressing the rally as chief guest, former Gazipur city BNP convener and former MP Hasan Uddin Sarkar said everyone must stay alert so that no particular quarter can exploit the workers' demand for a Tk 30,000 minimum wage to create instability and sabotage in factories.

Hasan Uddin Sarkar also urged workers to return to their workplaces without falling for any provocation, for the sake of keeping the country's economy and domestic industrial production running.

Former Gazipur city BNP joint convener Rakib Uddin Sarkar said that while initiatives are under way to rebuild the country under BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, attempts are being made to create instability through disorder and destructive activities centred on unrest in the garment sector. He said BNP activists, together with ordinary workers, would firmly resist such politics and disorder.

BNP leader Sarkar Shahnur Islam Roni and former Tongi thana BNP leader Nabin Hossain also spoke at the programme. The speakers demanded that garment workers' fair and legitimate rights be ensured, and called on workers, owners and all concerned parties to play a responsible role in keeping a peaceful environment in factories and national production running.