Govt must implement referendum verdict; will not tolerate betrayal: Jamaat chief

Opposition Leader and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman has demanded that the government implement the outcome of the referendum, claiming that 70% of voters had supported the ‘Yes’ option.

“We have taken to the streets with seven demands of the people. Our main demand is that 70% of the people voted ‘Yes’ in the 12 February referendum, and the BNP must implement that verdict. We will not tolerate betrayal of the nation,” he made the remarks at a roadside rally at Katakhali intersection on the Khulna-Mawa Highway in Bagerhat’s Fakirhat today (31 October), as part of the 11-party alliance’s Dhaka-Khulna-Kushtia long march.

“Before the election, they [BNP] said that if the ‘Yes’ vote won in the referendum, all 33 parties would be bound to accept it. If the referendum verdict is implemented, the people will no longer have to endure the difficulties associated with the remaining six demands,” he added.

Shafiqur further said the people of Bangladesh had demonstrated in 2024 that they could not be subdued through bullets, guns or cannons. “The people of this country have seen the road to freedom. Everyone must remain prepared to free the country from a new form of fascism. If necessary, we must be ready to shed our blood for this cause.”

Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, NCP leader and lawmaker Abdul Hannan Masud, Bagerhat-1 lawmaker Maulana Mashiur Rahman Khan, Bagerhat-2 lawmaker Shaikh Monzurul Haque Rahad, Bagerhat-4 lawmaker Abdul Alim, among others, also spoke at the rally.

A large number of leaders and activists of the 11-party alliance gathered along the Khulna-Mawa Highway from Mollahat Bridge to Kudir Botola in Rupsha from the morning ahead of the long march.

Crowds gathered at Nawapara intersection and Katakhali, where the roadside rally eventually turned into a public gathering. The presence of women activists was particularly noticeable, with many lining the highway to wait for the long-march convoy.

The long march was organised around seven demands, including implementation of the July Charter, justice for the July massacre, an end to gas, electricity and fertiliser shortages, curbing price hikes of essential commodities, improving law and order, and stopping corruption and extortion.

Alliance leaders said the programme was intended to energise opposition activists and help address the rising cost of living, corruption and extortion.

After the Katakhali rally, the long-march convoy continued towards Khulna.