Unite to restore democracy
Urges Oikya Front as it rallies to push for 7-point demand
Staff Reporter
Leaders of the Jatiya Oikya Front yesterday urged the people to be united to realise their seven-point charter of demands to restore democracy and ensure voting rights through free, fair, participatory and credible elections.
Gano Forum president Dr Kamal Hossain said the new platform has been created to convey the message that people are the owners of the republic, but they are failing to play their due role.
For this, unity is necessary and only then victory would be achieved, he added.
While addressing a public rally at the Sylhet Registrars Office field in Bandarbazar, Kamal Hossain said: People have to speak up that they are the real owners of the country. If fair polls are not held, people will be deprived of their rights.
He also said the Oikya Front has unveiled a seven-point charter of demands to restore peoples rights. Get united in villages, unions, thanas, upazilas and districts under the seven points, he added.
You (people) have been deprived of your rights for several years. Your unity is necessary to restore your rights. We have seen the people to achieve big victories whenever they have been united, Kamal Hossain, who was also the chairman of the Constitution drafting Committee, said.
Brushing aside the Awami Leagues claims about development, the Gano Forum president said the development is for some people, but not for the entire nation.
This development is for those who are involved in money laundering. But we want development for all people. A handful of people have kept others away from their voting rights. For this, we have to be united, he asserted.
He also demanded the release of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, Khaleda Zia.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakrul Islam Alamgir said: You are creating history, and it is for restoration of democracy. We have to restore democracy. We will bring back the rights of the people through a peaceful movement.
He also demanded the release of Khaleda Zia and other BNP leaders who have been politically detained. He also urged the government to dissolve Parliament and resign before the next election.
Reminding the people of the seven-point charter of demands of the Oikya Front, Kamal Hossain said that electronic voting machines (EVMs) should not be used to rig votes. He also demanded Army deployment for the next poll.
BNP standing committee member barrister Moudud Ahmad said: There is widespread corruption during the tenure of the current government. No work can be done without bribe. If we come to power, we will try them in court.
We have united to drive out the autocratic government. It has to be forced to sit for a dialogue. If dialogue is not held, it means the government does not believe in democracy, he added.
BNP leader Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain said the government has not been elected by peoples mandate. They want to hold the same type of election again. They have kept Khaleda Zia in prison illegally. People demand resignation of the government.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal leader ASM Abdur Rab said all have to join the struggle for fair polls. The country is now in the hands of dacoits. People have to come out of their houses and join the movement. The government will instigate us, but we have to carry out a peaceful movement. Our struggle is for survival, for votes and for fair elections, he added.
Convener of the Nagorik Oikya and former vice-president of the Dhaka University Central Student Union, Mahmudur Rahman Mannna, said: Crores of taka have been looted, but the offenders have not been tried. But I was sent to jail. Meet our demands, otherwise we will show how to topple the government. Everyone has the right to live properly. But we see that the Prime Minister is on one side and the rest of the people on the other side.
Describing Dr Kamal as a national mentor, Manna said: We will restore democracy under the leadership of Dr Kamal.
Veteran freedom fighter and trustee of the Gonoshasthya Kendra, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, proposed to pay tribute to the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi in the capital.
If we come to power, we will reduce the price of medicines by half within three months. Farmers will get just price for their produce. Development will not be confined only to Dhaka. It will be across the country, he added.
Executive committee president of the Gono Forum, advocate Subrata Chodhury, said: The Awami League has come to power without peoples mandate. People will not pardon the party. The current government is unfit. It should resign right now.
Secretary general of Jaitya Okiya Prokria, AHM Mostafa Amin, said: Voting rights will be ensured through a non-violent movement. Dr Kamal believes in non-violent movement.
Earlier, leaders of different political parties who have forged the Jatiya Oikya Front reached Sylhet early in the morning by plane. They then went to the holy shrines of Shahjalal and Shahparan to offer prayers. They prayed for peace and well-being of the nation.
Dr Kamal Hossain reached Sylhet on Tuesday and offered prayers at the shrines on that day. The rally started around 2pm with the speech of Sylhet BNP president Abul Kaher Shamim at the Sylhet Registrars Office field, where thousands of people gathered. Oikya Front leaders alleged that law enforcers searched different places of Sylhet, obstructing people from joining the rally.
