Demonstrations described as huge took place in Dhaka (the capital of Bangladesh) on Wednesday, to protest against the high cost of living and to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the holding of elections.
The opposition Bangladesh National Party and its opposition allies organized demonstrations in Dhaka and nine other cities.
"The time for clinging to power is over," said a prominent leader of the Bangladesh National Party, Mirza Abbas - during a sit-in in front of the party's headquarters in the capital, adding, "Let a neutral government organize the elections."
According to the police, 50,000 demonstrators attended to hear Abbas, who was released last Monday, after a month-long crackdown on opposition activists, according to Agence France-Presse.
According to party officials, hundreds of thousands answered their call to demonstrate in Dhaka, in addition to thousands more at similar rallies across the country.
"The cost of living has always been a source of insomnia," Abu Naeem, a student in Dhaka, told AFP. "It may not be a problem for the government, but people like me are dying. I came to protest this irresponsible indifference."
"We fired rubber bullets to control the situation," said a senior police official in Faridpur (center), who preferred not to be identified.
The leader of the BNP, Shama Obaid - who led the demonstration - said that at least 100 activists were injured in attacks with sticks, Molotov cocktails and stones by supporters of the ruling party, and at least 30 party supporters were arrested, according to what the leadership reported.
Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, but the Russian war in Ukraine has forced the government to suspend gas and diesel imports.
Rising food and fuel prices prompted Hasina's government to impose rationing on long hours of electricity last year and to increase food distribution to the poor.
The value of the local currency (the taka) declined by about 25%.
As a result, the cost of food imports has increased and life has become more difficult for the poorest.
The ruling Awami League Party staged a counter-protest in Dhaka in support of Hasina, calling on her to step down.
Sheikh Hasina told her supporters on Tuesday that "extremists are gathering in one place to overthrow us (...) do not think that the party will collapse if it is shaken, things are not that easy."