Jamaat-led alliance begins long march, vows to continue movement

The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance began its Dhaka-Chattogram long march after an inaugural rally at Shapla Chattar. The march set out at about 8:30 a.m., following the rally at 7 a.m., with the programme presented as a campaign on behalf of Bangladesh’s 180 million people.

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Our long march is on behalf of 180 million people. Our demands are clear. People are suffering from gas, electricity and water crises. Yet they still have to pay their bills.

Opposition Leader and Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said the movement would continue until people’s rights were established. He pointed to shortages of gas, electricity and water, saying people still had to pay their bills despite the crises. “Our long march is on behalf of 180 million people. Our demands are clear. People are suffering from gas, electricity and water crises. Yet they still have to pay their bills,” he said.

The alliance is demanding implementation of the referendum verdict, a trial over the 2024 July massacre, an end to shortages of electricity, fuel, gas and fertiliser, and measures to curb rising prices of essential goods. Its other demands include ending extortion and corruption, improving law and order, and stopping narrow partisanisation.

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Our movement will continue until the rights of the 180 million people of this country are established.

Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam said the march belonged to the people and warned that if the government obstructed it, the alliance would reach Chattogram despite any obstacles. He said the coalition’s six-point platform could then become a single-point demand. Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis leader Mamunul Haque accused the government of betraying the nation, while Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar called for the government to admit its mistakes in parliament and reform the Constitution.

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If the government obstructs the long march, we will reach Chattogram overcoming all obstacles, and the 11-party alliance’s six-point demand will turn into a single-point demand.

The march is scheduled to end at Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram, with roadside rallies planned in Narayanganj, Cumilla, Feni and Mirsharai. The number of vehicles joining the march has also drawn attention, with an NCP leader saying it had been reduced from an earlier estimate of 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles.

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If it tries to mislead the nation after taking power, our hands will not tremble even an inch to pull it down.