Play store
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Saturday warned that the government would lose its legitimacy if it failed to implement the verdict of the referendum.
Addressing an 11-party alliance rally at Hemayet Uddin Eidgah Maidan in Barishal, he said the government itself had claimed legitimacy from the same day’s vote in which, according to him, 70 percent of voters supported the referendum.
“If the referendum is not recognised, this government will not be recognised either. If the people’s referendum is undermined, the government will also be rejected,” he said.
The rally was organised to demand implementation of the referendum verdict, relief from public suffering, control of commodity prices and accelerated development of the country’s neglected southern region.
Shafiqur alleged that the ruling party had pledged before the election to implement the referendum outcome but had abandoned that commitment after assuming office.
He also urged the BNP-led government to initiate constitutional reforms through parliament and implement the referendum verdict, warning that failure to do so could trigger fresh street protests.
The Jamaat chief called for balanced regional development, demanding a six-lane highway from Bhanga to Kuakata, construction of the Bhola-Barishal bridge and a railway link to Barishal.
He also criticised rising living costs, saying government assistance through the Family Card programme was insufficient to offset inflation.
Leaders of other alliance partners, including LDP Chairman Col (retd) Oli Ahmed and AB Party Secretary General Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad, also addressed the rally. They called for action against corruption, justice for the July killings and greater development of the Barishal region.
