Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman has said his party’s movement is not directed against any particular party or group, but is a movement to protect the rights of the country’s 180 million people. “If the government implements the eight-point demands we have declared, then alhamdulillah,” he said. “But if the government does not accept our demands, this eight-point movement will turn into a one-point movement without delay.” He made the remarks as chief guest at a roadside rally held at Hatikumrul in Sirajganj on Saturday afternoon, during the long march.
Dr Shafiqur Rahman said: “As we were coming by car, we heard the roar of revolution among the people on the streets. Ordinary people are raising a single finger and chanting ‘one point, one point.’ Make all-out preparations — insha’Allah, we will return home only after making this movement a success. We are now heading from Dhaka toward Rangpur, but if it becomes necessary, you must be ready to march from Sirajganj to Dhaka.”
The rally was chaired by district Jamaat ameer Shahinur Alam. Others who spoke included opposition chief whip and Sirajganj-4 constituency MP Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan, National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam MP, and NCP chief coordinator Nasir Uddin Patwari.