National Citizen Party (NCP) spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan on Monday said the country must now bring change through ballots rather than violence, stressing that “change must come through seals, not blood”.
Addressing a street rally at the Phultol intersection in Boalkhali, Chattogram, he said the last 16 months were only a “demo” of the 17 years of torture people endured before the July mass uprising.
Campaigning for 11-party alliance candidate Jobairul Arif in the Chattogram-8 constituency, Asif Mahmud, who also heads the National Citizen Party’s Election Steering Committee, described the 12 February polls as another decisive moment for the country.
He compared the significance of the election to 5 August, when Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee, and urged voters to support whichever alliance can secure people’s freedom rather than focusing on election symbols.
He said the country must be freed from oppressors and extortionists through the “seal” on election day, accusing a political party of speaking about reform but remaining silent when the opportunity for real change arrived.
Warning of an emerging alliance between what he described as “defeated fascist forces” and “new fascist forces”, he called on voters to defeat them by electing the 11-party alliance and supporting the “Yes” vote.
Chattogram-8 candidate Jobairul Arif also addressed the rally, cautioning people against parties making promises centred on various “cards”.
He alleged that over the past 16 months those parties had made people’s lives miserable through extortion, land grabbing, murder and mugging, and claimed that the promised benefits would ultimately be consumed by those making the pledges.
He said voters who want a reformed and fascism-free Bangladesh must ensure the victory of the 11-party unity alliance and the “Yes” vote.
