Dhaka: BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan on Monday feared that the government may now try to get the Khulna city corporation polls stayed by court as a mass wave has also been created there like Gazipur in favour of the BNP mayoral candidate.

‘The election to Gazipur has been stopped. Electioneering in Khulna city is going on, and a huge mass wave has been created there in favour of the candidate of ‘Sheaf of Paddy’,’ he said, reports the UNB.

Speaking at a discussion, he further said, ‘The current government is suffering from a sense of fear due to a mass wave. So, we apprehend it may now try to stop the election there as it doesn’t want to get defeated.’

Islamic Party, one of the components of the BNP-led 20-party alliance, arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club, marking the third death anniversary of its ex-chairman Abdul Mobin.

Nazrul, a BNP standing committee member, said their party is likely to come up with harsher action programmes changing their current soft line of action to force the government to ‘restore’ democracy and hold the next polls under a non-party administration.

‘We’re carrying out a peaceful democratic movement as per the directives of our chairperson (Khaleda Zia) and acting chairman Tarique Rahman. But it doesn’t mean we’ll tolerate whatever the government does at will,’ he added.

The BNP leader also said their grassroots leaders and activists are mounting pressure on them to change the course of their current movement.

He alleged that their chairperson Khaleda Zia has been subjected to inhuman attitude in jail for lack of treatment.

Nazrul said Khaleda is unlikely to be freed soon even if the Supreme Court grants her bail on Tuesday if she is shown arrested in other cases.

He feared that the government may resort to various tricks to prolong Khaleda’s stay in jail.