The AL has formed a probe committee with "partisan lawyers", which will create confusion among people and ultimately help the perpetrators to escape, they claimed.

Chittagong City unit of BNP and its front organisations organised the rally at Laldighi Maidan as a part of its countrywide protest against the grenade attack on Awami League rally.

State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mir Md Nasir Uddin, who is also president of the city BNP, told the rally that the attackers are enemies of the country and democracy. They must be brought to book as they want to destabilise the democratic government, obstruct flow of foreign investment thwart the country's progress.

The government has taken all possible steps for an independent probe by engaging all agencies and the Interpol.

Mir Nasir said the investigation commission formed in the name of Supreme Court Bar Council comprised partisan lawyers. It has no legal or constitutional base. It will rather hinder the judicial probe and create confusion among people, he said.

As many as 15 incidents of bomb explosion took place in the country between 1999 and 2001 when Awami League was in power but the Bar Council had kept mum then, the minister said.

"People of the country ponder whether the grenade attack was a trump card after the deadline announced by Awami League General Secretary expired on April 30", one of the speakers said.

BNP central leader Begum Rozi Kabir, Chittagong city BNP General Secretary Alhaj Dostagir Chowdhury, Vice President Shamsul Alam, Mohammad Mia Bhola, Joint Secretary Alhaj Ershad Ullah, Organizing Secretary Alhaj FH Khan Faju and BNP leaders Abdus Satter, Abdul Kader Milon, Niaz Mohammad Khan also addressed the rally.