Dhaka: BNP on Monday deferred its Wednesday’s rally at Suhrawardy Udyan to Saturday due to the ongoing 63^rd conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in the city.

The party now has sought permission for staging the programme on November 11 instead of November 8, said party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Speaking at a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he said, ‘We’ve been informed that the conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is being held in parliament area. So, we’ve deferred our Suhrawardy Udyan rally to Nov 11 from Nov 8 for smooth holding of the conference.’

He said they have already submitted a fresh letter to the authorities concerned seeking permission for the programme. ‘Hope, we’ll be given the permission.’

Rizvi, however, said their party chairperson Khaleda Zia together with its leaders and activists will visit party founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave near parliament on Tuesday and place wreath over there, marking what he said the ‘national revolution and solidarity day’.

As his attention was drawn to the restriction imposed by the government on any type of public gathering and meeting in the parliament area due to the CPA conference, he said they are in touch with the authorities concerned. ‘We hope we’ll get the permission.’

Earlier on Friday, the party announced to hold the rally at the Suhrawardy Udyan on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the party chalked out a 10-day programme to observe the ‘national revolution and solidarity day,’ marking what it said the civil-military ‘uprising on November 7, 1975’.

Amid political turmoil, soldiers and civilians on November 7, 1975 jointly freed then chief of army staff Ziaur Rahman from captivity in Dhaka Cantonment, paving the path for Zia to come to power.

While BNP and its alliances celebrate November 7 as the national revolution and solidarity day, Awami League and its front organisations consider it as the day of ‘killing of freedom fighters’. Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Rob) observes it as the day of civil-military revolution.