Government has lost moral authority to remain in power: Shafiqur

The government has lost the moral authority to remain in power after admitting its failures, said the leader of the opposition, Dr Shafiqur Rahman.

Speaking at the triennial conference of the Bangladesh Sramik Federation at the National Press Club today (31 July), the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer referred to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s remarks that there had been no visible change over the past five months and that only the prime minister had embraced change to rebuild the country and society.

Shafiqur questioned how corruption could continue if the prime minister did not want it, saying everything operates according to the prime minister’s directions.

He asked why corruption could not be stopped under those circumstances. He also said the government had lost the moral authority to remain in power after admitting its failures.

Shafiqur urged the government to crack down on corruption and eliminate extortion, saying the country’s 180 million people would support such efforts.

Addressing the government, he said the people and his party would not remain silent if it acted against public aspirations. He said Bangladesh would be free, but achieving that might require greater sacrifices, and called on everyone to be prepared.

He said workers had made the greatest sacrifices during the mass uprising. Citing United Nations figures, he said 1,400 people were martyred and that workers accounted for the largest share by profession, followed by students and then the general public.

He added that workers had repeatedly sacrificed their lives in the fight against injustice and had done so again in 2024.

The Jamaat ameer also called for July martyrs and July fighters to receive the respect they deserve.

He further said that if 70% of people had delivered a verdict in a referendum, any government claiming to believe in democracy must accept it, adding that rejecting the verdict would amount to insulting the people.