The Left Democratic Alliance brings out a procession in Dhaka on Thursday, protesting at the police attack on them during a general strike on Wednesday. — New Age photo

Left leaning political parties on Thursday demanded exemplary punishment of those responsible for the police attacks on their activists during Wednesday’s half-day hartal.
At separate rallies in the city left leaders blasted the authorities for the police excesses against hartal pickets.
The police charged batons, sprayed pepper and used water canon on the pickets in the city during the hartal, called by nine left political parties to press the demand for a roll back of the latest fuel price hike by the government and opposing further electricity price increase.
Democratic Left Alliance, a combine of the seven left parties, Communist Party of Bangladesh and Socialist Party of Bangladesh held two separate rallies in front of the National Press Club in protest against the police excesses.
 Speaking at the rally jointly organized  by CPB and SPB, CPB president Mujahidul Islam Selim demanded exemplary punishment of those responsible for the brutal police attacks on the pickets during the hartal.
He demanded resignation of the home minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, if he had ordered the police to attack the pickets.
He also demanded punishment of police officers if they carried out the attacks without any order from the home minister.
Zonayed Saki, the coordinator of the DLA, at its rally demanded immediate resignation of the home minister for the attacks on the left party pickets.
He asked the government to stop using the dangerous pepper spray on opposition protesters.
Saki announced a mass sit-in in demoinstyration front of the energy ministry on January 31, holding country wide demonstrations on January 30 and a fortnight-long countrywide mass contact drives and demonstrations in front of power distribution centres.  
Chaired by Zonayed Saki, the rally was addressed, among others by its leaders Saiful Huq, Muhrefa Mishu, Abdus Salam, Abdus Satter, Hamidul Haque, Shamim Imam and Mahinuddin Chowdhury Liton.