Mohammad Yunus

In Bangladesh, eight radical Islamic parties including Jamaat-e-Islami took to the streets on Monday against the government of Nobel laureate and interim Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Yunus. These parties organized a huge rally at Purana Paltan intersection in Dhaka and directly attacked the Yunus government.

They allege that the Yunus government is ignoring public opinion and avoiding giving legal status to the July National Charter. These parties have put forward five-point demands, the most important of which is the demand to hold the next general elections under the Proportional Representation system.

Who are these 8 united parties?

The parties involved in this rally are Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlish, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Khelafat Andolan, Nizame Islam Party, Jatiya Loktantrik Party (JGP) and Bangladesh Development Party. Before the rally, top leaders of all these parties met in the office of Islami Andolan Bangladesh and decided the strategy of the movement. He says that now it is not just political, but has become a fight for Islamic identity and people’s rights.

Crowd gathered on the road

The rally started with recitation of Quran. After this, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rehman Azad inaugurated the meeting and warned that if the government did not accept their demands, they would have to step aside. The program was presided over by the head of Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Charmonai Pir Mufti Syed Mohammad Rezaul Karim.

After noon, a crowd of supporters gathered on the streets of Dhaka. The crowd was raising slogans of imposing Islamic rule with green and white flags. Traffic police and party volunteers remained busy in maintaining the arrangements. The leaders launched sharp attacks on the government from a temporary platform made by joining two trucks.

Talks did not work out with BNP, taunt on government

Jamaat leaders said that they tried to communicate with the main opposition party BNP, but did not get any response. At the same time, no concrete initiative has been seen from the Yunus government till now. Meanwhile, the seven-day deadline given by the interim government to political parties to agree on the date of referendum has ended yesterday. Political experts say that this rally may increase pressure on the Yunus government.