Bangladesh Nationalist party Chairperson and Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia has called for a countrywide strike on June 27. <br/><br/>Addressing a grand rally at the Paltan Maidan in Dhaka on Wednesday, Khaleda Zia said the dawn to dusk strike is in protest against the misrule and misdeeds of the government led by Awami League. <br/><br/>This will be the first countrywide strike in Bangladesh after the Sheikh Hasina led government took over power in January 2009. Khaleda Zia also demanded the cancellation of deals signed with India and resignation of the Election Commission.<br/><br/>In addition to the general strike, Khaleda Zia also announced a mass sit-in programme to be observed on June 9 in front of the Institution of Engineers in Dhaka to protest against the alleged interference of the government in the judiciary.<br/><br/>The party will also hold protest rallies in all district and divisional headquarters on June 17 to protest against the alleged repression on journalists, shutting down of television channel and controlling media contents.<br/><br/>The mega rally of the BNP at Paltan maidan was a grand show of the party to mobilise its cadres for a nationwide agitation against the government. <br/><br/>With Khaleda Zia already having announced that she would unveil her party’s next stage of agitation against the government at the Dhaka rally, party workers thronged the rally venue beginning from morning. <br/><br/>Khaleda Zia criticised the Sheikh Hasina led government for having failed to allegedly maintain law order, tender grabbing, extortion and anarchy in educational campus. <br/><br/>The rally in Dhaka was part of the series of rallies the BNP has organised in different cities of the country like Chittagong, Rajshahi Khulna and Barisal. Khaleda Zia claimed that the programmes announced on Wednesday were a warning to the Awami League led Sheikh Hasina government.