The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance today (4 April) threatened the government with tougher street movements if it did not promptly implement the referendum mandate.
They also urged the government to implement the mandate soon and criticised what they described as the ruling party’s reluctance to honour it. The call was made during a rally at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the presence of a huge turnout.
Addressing the rally as the chair, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer ATM Azharul Islam said the July uprising was not aimed at replacing one political party with another, but at overhauling what he termed a “fascist constitutional structure.”
He urged the government to implement the “July Charter” in line with the referendum, warning that failure to do so would trigger stronger movements.
Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Mamunul Haque accused the BNP of taking a contradictory position, saying that the party had supported the referendum ahead of the election but was now unwilling to accept its outcome.
“This reflects political opportunism,” he said.
NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain, who was elected from the Rangpur-4 seat, said that although BNP leaders were elected through votes, they were now rejecting a referendum verdict endorsed by the people.
He stressed that the constitution must reflect the will of the people rather than any party’s stance.
Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad, also coordinator of the alliance, said both parliamentary and referendum votes were held on the same day, and accepting one while rejecting the other were inconsistent.
He called for the formation of a constitutional reform council in line with the referendum outcome.
Other speakers included Khelafat Majlis Secretary General Ahmad Abdul Qader, Nezame Islam Party leader Mufti Mokhlesur Rahman Kasemi, LDP Praesidium Member Omar Faruk, JAGPA Vice President Rashed Pradhan, and Bangladesh Development Party Chairman AKM Anwarul Haque Chan.
Following the rally, a procession marched from the national mosque’s north gate through Nightingale intersection to Kakrail, with participants chanting slogans in favour of implementing the July Charter.
The treasury bench and the opposition got locked into an argument over the implementation of the July Charter during the third sitting of the 13th Parliament’s first session.
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