Rajapur, Aug 14 (V7N) – In Rajapur Upazila of Jhalokathi district, two rival groups of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its youth wing, Jubo Dal, have called separate rallies at the same venue and time, raising tensions in the area. In response, the local administration imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code from 10 p.m. Tuesday to midnight Wednesday around the scheduled meeting site near the Upazila Parishad market.

The Upazila Executive Officer, Rahul Chand, confirmed that the curfew would remain in effect to prevent law and order issues due to the political rivalry.

The BNP faction, organizing a rally and meeting on Wednesday afternoon to mark the anniversary of July’s mass uprising, distributed invitations listing Abdus Salam, an advisor to the BNP Chairperson, as the chief guest. The invitations bore the signature of Nur Hossain, organizational secretary of Rajapur BNP. Several aspirants for the Jhalokathi-1 parliamentary seat, including Habibur Rahman Selim Reza, have been actively campaigning in Rajapur for several days in support of this event. These aspirants are known rivals of Rafiqul Islam Jamal, BNP’s central religious affairs secretary. Notably, the invitations did not mention the names of Rafiqul Islam Jamal or Rajapur BNP president Advocate Abul Kalam Azad.

In response, the Jubo Dal faction, aligned with Rafiqul Islam Jamal, called a counter-rally at the same location and time. Their invitations named Jhalokathi district’s acting convener Robiul Hossain Tuhin and secretary Anichur Rahman as guests. However, Robiul Hossain Tuhin stated that district youth leaders were unaware of this event.

Habibur Rahman Selim Reza, president of New York South BNP and one of the main organizers, asserted that they had announced the event five days earlier and obtained administrative permission. He condemned the rival youth wing’s counter-rally as an unacceptable attempt to disrupt the meeting.

On the other hand, Syed Nazmul Haque, secretary of Rajapur Jubo Dal, said that the youth wing had a central directive to hold a rally. Due to the monsoon rains, the event was delayed, but permission had been secured a week ago. He accused the rival faction of calling the counter-event to create disturbances.

When questioned, Upazila Executive Officer Rahul Chand said no written permission had been issued to either group. Both factions had informed the administration, but fearing a deterioration of law and order, Section 144 was imposed.

Advocate Syed Hossain, convener of Jhalokathi BNP, confirmed his knowledge of the BNP rally but denied awareness of the youth wing’s event. He said he would decide on attending based on the situation.

Meanwhile, heightened tensions gripped Rajapur on Tuesday night as members of both groups took positions near the meeting venue. Throughout the day, motorcycle rallies and showdowns caused widespread fear and unrest in the area.

END/AIJ/SMA/