Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman has said the party does not want to see the return of fascism in the country, warning that any attempt to re-establish it in a new form would face consequences similar to those of 5 August.
“Those who can protect the country from extortion, land grabbing and killings will lead the nation in the future,” he said at a public rally in his constituency, Dhaka-15, on Thursday afternoon, the first day of official campaigning for the 13th parliamentary election.
The Jamaat chief said the responsibility of the youths who helped free the country from fascism was not yet over and that they would not return home until justice was established.
He described those who had stolen votes as vote robbers, adding that people, especially youths, would not allow new vote robbers to emerge and would remain on the streets against them.
He said Jamaat would stand by those who establish justice and urged voters to refrain from supporting those who kill their own activists over extortion disputes or run people over with vehicles.
Referring to repression during the Awami League’s rule, the Jamaat ameer said no one was spared at the hands of fascists, from military officers to lawyers. Many mothers are still searching for their forcibly disappeared children, he said, adding that many are no longer alive.
He said the country could not be allowed to return to such a situation and called on voters to support candidates of Jamaat-e-Islami and the 10-party alliance.
At the rally, National Citizen Party convener Nahid Islam said the election was not about a change of power but about changing the state structure. He said the July spirit must be implemented by electing the 10-party alliance and that there was no alternative to reforms to save the country.
Nahid said equal opportunities in campaigning were still not being ensured, meaning there was no level playing field.
He urged voters to reject candidates who were nominated despite failing to repay loans and who were pressuring courts to uphold their nominations, warning that their return to power would revive plunder-based politics. “We did not carry out a mass uprising for this,” he said.
At the rally, Jamaat’s electoral symbol, the Scales, was handed over to Jamaat-nominated candidates in Dhaka’s metropolitan constituencies. Senior leaders of Jamaat and the 10-party alliance were present.
Leaders of Jamaat and the 10-party alliance also carried out day-long campaigning in different parts of the country.
