Govt turns away from reforms: Dr Shafiq 

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman has urged party leaders and activists to take part in December programmes with full strength. He said the party would launch a series of programmes throughout the month to make its activists more active. 

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman made the call at a conference of upazila representatives organised by the party's central youth and sports department at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, in the capital on Saturday.

Announcing the party's programmes for December, Shafiqur Rahman said, "We will take part in these programmes with all our strength to make them successful. This is not about stopping anyone. There will be no need to stop anyone."

He said many people asked the party how long it would allow the government to continue harming the country.

"We do not want to give this government even one more minute. But the people need time to understand who is who and what their true character is," he said.

The Jamaat chief also said the government had accepted one of the two separate votes held on government formation and state reforms but had refused to accept the other. He blamed the ruling party for creating the current political crisis.

He said his party was not yet ready to call the current government fascist. However, he added that many signs of fascism could be seen in its actions.

He also said the government had moved away from the path of state reforms, despite people's hopes and expectations following the July movement.

Speaking about the upcoming local government elections, he said the party would not tolerate vote rigging, corruption or attempts to manipulate the polls.

He also raised concerns over the education sector, alleging that there were serious attempts to undermine it. He claimed that vice-chancellors and college principals were being appointed by force, as if taking control of land.

Speaking as a special guest, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said the people who had come to power by going against public expectations were unlikely to fulfil the hopes raised by the July movement.

He said the government would have to accept the referendum results through proper parliamentary procedures. If the issue could not be resolved in parliament, he warned, the final decision would be made on the streets.

The conference was chaired by Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, president of Jamaat-e-Islami's central youth and sports department.