BNP hopes to get permission for their rally scheduled for March 12 in Dhaka as Awami League has already been allowed to hold a mass rally on March 7, said a BNP top leader today.

“AL will hold the mass rally in the capital on March 7 and Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad has also been allowed to hold its rally on the same day. We hope, BNP will also get permission for the rally on March 12,” said BNP Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.

“Otherwise, we will understand that the government is running two systems in one country,” he said at a discussion arranged by Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal at Dhaka Reporters Unity in Dhaka.

Earlier, BNP announced holding a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on March 12 demanding release of its Chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail.

The party has already sent letters to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner and Public Works Department seeking permission for holding the rally.

Khaleda was convicted in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8 by a special court in Dhaka. She landed in jail after she was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the case.

Soon after her conviction, BNP announced countrywide demonstrations on February 9 and 10. Later, it staged protests from February 12 to 14.