Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Thursday said the party has never claimed credit for the July uprising or portrayed any of its leaders or activists as the "mastermind" behind the movement.
"We have never said that so many of our party members were martyred in the movement. The people themselves are witnesses to what happened," he said at a views-exchange meeting with the families of those killed and injured in the July uprising at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) in Dhaka.
Shafiqur said Jamaat had officially stood beside the student-led movement from the outset and had repeatedly taken to the streets in response to the country's needs.
Praising those injured during the uprising, he said they had made immense sacrifices without retreating.
The Jamaat ameer, however, alleged that the government had failed to fulfill the aspirations of those killed in the July uprising and had instead "betrayed" them.
Referring to the origins of the protests, he said students had launched the movement demanding quota reform, but claimed that partisan influence had since spread across almost every state institution.
He accused the government of politicizing the administration, calling it "shameful" for the nation, and alleged that the current administration had adopted discriminatory practices similar to those of its predecessor.
Shafiqur also claimed that Jamaat had been offered various inducements to compromise on the issue of the referendum, but the party had rejected them.
He said Jamaat would continue its campaign both inside parliament and on the streets until, in his words, "the people's verdict expressed through the referendum is implemented."
"We will never bow to injustice," he said, alleging that the government had ignored the public mandate and betrayed the nation. He urged the authorities to respect and implement what he described as the people's verdict.
Shafiqur also alleged that July activists had come under attack in different parts of the country for criticizing government actions and speaking out for people's rights.
Despite such attacks and repression, he said, July activists and opposition parties would continue their movement to uphold people's rights.