BNP will pay a heavy price if referendum verdict is not implemented: Shafiqur Rahman

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman has warned that the BNP will have to pay a heavy price if it does not implement the verdict of the referendum.

He made the remarks on Saturday at the inaugural rally of the 11-party alliance's long march towards Khulna and Kushtia, held at the south gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque in the capital.

The Jamaat Ameer said the BNP government has broken the people's trust and disappointed them. The BNP has not learned from the past; instead, it is creating new problems, he said.

Shafiqur Rahman said: we have not taken to the streets with any personal or party demands; these are the people's demands. Our previous two long marches succeeded with the people's cooperation.

He said the main demand among the seven demands is to implement the people's verdict of the referendum. If that demand had been met, the other six demands would not have arisen, he said.

Addressing young people, he said: do not listen to anyone's deception. Another revolution is knocking at our door.

At the rally, LDP chairman Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed said: we want the country to run well, and a country cannot run well if the system is not right. He alleged that since this government came to power, districts, city corporations and various corporations have turned into BNP offices, and all tenders are being controlled from there.

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Mamunul Haque said the deterioration of law and order, the extreme rise in prices of essentials, and people's important rights including oil, gas, electricity and fertiliser are now beyond people's reach. He alleged that terrorism and extortion have spread across the country and that the government has politicised the administration.

Mamunul Haque added that the root of all these problems is the failure to reform the constitution and to give effect to the referendum verdict. The fruits of the July revolution will be realised by reforming the constitution through implementing that verdict, he said.

Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar commented that the country's law and order situation is going beyond the government's control. Killings, violence, extortion, juvenile gangs and political clashes are rising in the country, he said.

After the rally, leaders and activists of the 11 parties began the long march at around 8:30am. On the way, roadside rallies will be held at Naodoba in Jajira, Shariatpur; Katakhalir Mor in Fakirhat, Bagerhat; Babri Chattar in Khulna city and the Independence Chattar at Phultala bus stand; Murlir Mor in Jashore; and the bus terminal in Jhenaidah.

The long march's concluding rally will be held at the Shahid Abrar Fahad Stadium in Kushtia.