FROM PAGE 16

large number of leaders and activists taking part.

Presiding over the event, Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer ATM Azharul Islam said the July uprising had given people a “new life”, adding that disrespecting it would mean rejecting that transformation. “It was not about replacing one party with another but about dismantling the old system and establishing a new one where power rests with the people.”

He alleged that by ignoring the votes of 70 percent of referendum participants, the government was trying to concentrate power in the hands of a single individual, in a way reminiscent of the Awami League’s rule.

At the rally, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Mamunul Haque said, “If you fail to stand by the people and the country, if you disregard the public mandate or override it through court decisions, the people of this country will confront you on the streets.”

National Citizen Party Member Secretary Akhter Hossen said that forming a government through elections is legitimate, but calling reforms endorsed by a popular vote illegitimate reflects “double standards” that the people will not accept.

“Through the referendum, people have expressed their desire to transform the state structure. Now, leveraging a two-thirds majority, they [BNP] are attempting to ignore that mandate. They talk about the constitution -- we agree that a constitution is necessary to run the country. But it cannot be the constitution of 1972, nor that of Sheikh Hasina, nor of the BNP. It must be a constitution of the people.”

Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad said constitutional amendment is a routine parliamentary function. He warned that the BNP would face consequences if it pursued amendment without broader reforms.

Jamaat walked out of parliament on Wednesday alleging a lack of “remedy” over a motion related to convening the Constitutional Reform Council.

Under the July National Charter implementation order issued during the interim government, a referendum held alongside the February 12 parliamentary election endorsed 48 reform proposals. The order stipulates that members of parliament will also serve as members of the reform council, which is to convene within 30 days of the election results.

However, BNP lawmakers did not take oath as members of the council.

Jamaat Ameer and Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman earlier submitted an adjournment motion under Rule 62 of the Rules of Procedure to discuss the issue, but no decision was reached in parliament on the matter.

Alleging that their proposal was sidelined and no remedy was provided, opposition lawmakers staged the walkout. Later, at a press conference, Shafiqur said, “We will return to the people -- the very people who gave this verdict. Together with them, we will decide how to realise the referendum mandate.”

Following his remark, alliance leaders held a meeting in Gulshan on Thursday and announced yesterday’s protest programme.