Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman yesterday said the party’s movement would continue both in parliament and on the streets against what he termed “the government’s deception and betrayal”.
Addressing a divisional rally of the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance at the Madrasa Field in Rajshahi city as the chief guest, he said, “The 16 ordinances, without the implementation of which good governance in Bangladesh cannot be ensured, have been shelved. If those are not implemented, I promise you that our movement will continue in parliament and simultaneously on the streets.
“Through sacrifice and struggle, Allah has removed the fascist rule from our chests. Political change came through a mass movement led by the youth, and the current rulers are enjoying the benefits of that movement.”
Shafiqur added that ignoring the verdict of the referendum would amount to insulting the people. “No one in the past has been able to escape after standing against the people, and you the government cannot escape either. The verdict of the referendum will also be implemented.”
Criticising the ruling BNP, the Jamaat chief said political domination and extortion continued in the country. “Your [the BNP’s] name used to be the [Bangladesh] Nationalist Party. Now people call it the extortionist party,” he said, calling for social resistance against corruption and extortion.
He added, “In a place where the speaker’s permission is needed to speak, if we are not allowed to speak there, we’ll go where no speaker’s permission is required. We will go to ‘the people’s parliament’.”
Shafiqur also said that while past contributions and roles should be respected, the nation could not move forward by remaining stuck in the past. “We will study history, but we will not remain confined to it. We will learn lessons from it.”
Welcoming the government’s announcement regarding the Padma Barrage, the Jamaat chief said it should not remain merely a symbolic declaration.
Demanding implementation of the Teesta mega project, he said the project must be carried out to alleviate the suffering of around 2.5 crore people living along the banks of the Teesta and two other rivers.
Referring to neighbouring India, he said, “We want you to live in peace and create a humane environment within your own country. If you interfere with our peace, no one’s peace will remain.”
The rally was presided over by Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Rafiqul Islam Khan and moderated by Rajshahi city Jamaat Secretary Emaz Uddin Mondol.
LDP Chairman Oli Ahmad; Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer and Rajshahi-1 MP Mujibur Rahman; Bangladesh Development Party Chairman Anwarul Islam; Bangladesh Labour Party Chairman Mostafizur Rahman; Khelafat Majlish Nayeb-e-Ameer Sirajul Haque; Bangladesh Nezam-e-Islami Ameer Abdul Quayyum Subhani; Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish Secretary General Jalal Uddin Ahmad; and National Citizen Party Northern Region Chief Coordinator Sarjis Alam also spoke at the rally, among others.
