... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ...
called by the Hefajat-e Islam appears to have upset the BNP, which wanted tougher action from the Islamist group to make April a turning point in the opposition alliance's oust-govt movement.
The main opposition party had expected that Hefajat men from their Motijheel rally on Saturday would announce agitation programmes such as non-stop shutdowns or sit-ins for several days.
It also decided to support Hefajat actions and supplement those by enforcing more hartals and blockades.
The BNP had relied upon stalwarts of some Islamist parties that are its alliance partners to convince the Hefajat top leadership to go for tougher programmes.
The Islamist leaders, who also hold posts in Hefajat, had made hectic efforts to push through the opposition alliance's agenda.
But Hefajat Ameer Shah Ahmad Shafi did not agree with them and only called a day-long hartal for today, sources in the alliance and Hefajat say.
On Saturday night, BNP Chairperson
Khaleda ZiaThree-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ...
, chief of the 18-party alliance, expressed her resentment at two separate meetings with the party's policymaking body and top leaders of her alliance.
Finally, the BNP, which supported the Islamist group's long march and provided food, drinks and other logistics to the marchers on Saturday, decided not to back today's hartal.
Khaleda Zia also suspended the alliance's April 10 rally.
The BNP had also given a break to its street agitations, thinking that the Hefajat would announce tougher programmes. The party-led alliance also decided not to go for any nationwide hartal after April 2.
"Now it is almost certain that April will not be a turning point in the opposition movement. The agitation has apparently lost momentum after Hefajat's go-slow strategy," a BNP policymaker told The Daily Star yesterday, wishing anonymity.
Asked, Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah, a member of the national standing committee of the BNP, said people had expected that Hefajat would opt for tougher agitation programmes and political analysts had forecast it would give a boost to the opposition movement.
"The opposition one-point movement could have got pace had Hefajat announced tougher agitation programmes."