General elections in the country must be held under a caretaker government and the rights of the people must be reinstated, Jamaat-e-Islami's Nayeb-e-Ameer and former lawmaker Dr Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said at the party's first mass gathering in Dhaka in a long time.
Speaking at the rally of the party as the chief guest, Taher said that elections are fundamental elements of democracy, and for them to be conducted freely and fairly, they must be held under a caretaker government.
The Jamaat, the former BNP ally, organized the rally at the Institution Engineers auditorium in Dhaka after getting permission from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Friday night. The ruling party claims the BNP has brought Jamaat to the streets to create anarchy ahead of the parliamentary election.
Taher said the constitution speaks about ensuring the rights of the people, freedom of speech, free and fair elections and the country without a doubt must be run in line with the constitution.
“The constitution must be amended if needed and through this amended constitution the (ongoing) crisis must be resolved… You (government) move aside, we won't be here either. A middle path, of a caretaker government that is neutral…the prerequisite of a neutral election is a neutral government,” he added.
The impasse between the two parties eased recently with the BNP conducting simultaneous movement against the government with like-minded parties.
Initially denied permission to hold the rally at Baitul Mukarram, the Jamaat proceeded with its scheduled event at the new venue, which was also its first such program in the capital in a decade.
Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka TribuneThe rally was convened by the party's Dhaka (South) Ameer Nurul Islam Bulbul and moderated by Secretary General Dr Shafiqul Islam Masud.
Motivating his party men, Taher mentioned that the Jamaat does not believe in terrorism, disorder or attacks.
He said that no repetition of the 2014 or 2018 national polls will be allowed to be staged in 2023. “This time polls will be held under a caretaker government by the grace of Allah,” he said.
Calling on the Awami League for talks over the formation and nature of the caretaker government, he said that if the ruling party understands the point then an all-party dialogue can be arranged.
Repeating his party's stance on the polls-time government, the Jamaat nayeb-e-ameer said that a movement will be waged if necessary to bring back the caretaker government system.
He alleged that party chief Dr Shafiqur Rahman has been imprisoned in a false case. Calling on the government to release party leaders immediately, he said that the political situation in the country will become hotter if the leaders are not released.
Earlier, leaders of the party started to gather at the rally venue hours before the scheduled time on Saturday. They were seen chanting slogans demanding the immediate release of the party's central leaders.
On Thursday, the Jamaat-e-Islami submitted a written application to the police seeking permission to hold the rally in front of Baitul Mukarram.
However, the DMP gave permission to the party to hold its rally at the IEB auditorium.
On 29 May, a four-member Jamaat delegation was taken into custody by the law enforcers when they visited the DMP Headquarters to seek permission for a rally in the capital for June 5.
However, after their release, the DMP clarified that the delegation had not been detained but instead brought in for questioning. The party was also denied permission to hold the rally in the capital's Baitul Mukarram area.
