The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance on Tuesday announced fresh protest programmes, including leaflet distribution and holding protests and seminars, demanding the enforcement of the referendum verdict to implement the July National Charter.

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish amir Mamunul Haque made the announcement at a press conference following a meeting of the alliance leaders at Al-Falah Auditorium in the capital’s Moghbazar area.

He said that the alliance would realise its demand for the implementation of the referendum verdict ‘at any cost’ with the support of the people and would continue its programmes until the demands were met.

He said that central leaders of the alliance would launch a leaflet distribution campaign at Shahbagh at 5:00pm on April 9, which would continue nationwide for a week.

Protest programmes will be held in all metropolitan cities on April 11 and in all districts on April 12, he said, adding that a national seminar would be held on April 13 at the Muktijoddha Hall of the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh, in Dhaka.

Jamaat secretary general Mia Golam Porwar, addressing the press conference, alleged that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was delaying the implementation of the referendum verdict held on the basis of the July Charter.

He said that five crore people voted to reject the BNP’s ‘note of dissent’, warning that ignoring the public mandate by using majority power would again push the country towards authoritarian rule.

‘The crisis has been created by the BNP, and the party must resolve it,’ he said.

He added that the BNP’s dissent on key issues, including constitutional reform and state restructuring, had already been rejected in the referendum. As a signatory to the July Charter, the BNP should accept the public mandate, he said.