Leaders of 11-party alliance leave Secretariat area without meeting anyone
Leaders and activists of the 11-party alliance faced police obstruction while marching towards the Secretariat. Photo: Collected.
Despite marching towards the Secretariat to protest ongoing gas crisis and soaring prices of essential commodities, leaders of the 11-party alliance did not get to meet any responsible representative of the government.
Today, Thursday (August 6), around 12:45 PM, when the procession crossed Zero Point and reached the front of the Secretariat, police blocked the protesters with barricades.
Later, after facing police obstruction at the main gate of the Secretariat and staying there for about 45 minutes, the top leaders of the alliance left the area around 1:30 PM without submitting a memorandum.
At the police's request, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami and Leader of the Opposition, gave a brief speech while standing in front of the barricade.
During the program, the Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, said, "We have not come here to disrespect anyone; we have come with the demands of the people."
Calling for a responsible government representative to come and accept the demands, he said, "If you want to stop this march, then the minister in charge or his representative must come out here. We want to hand over the demands to them on behalf of the people. If they succeed in implementing the people's demands, we will thank them. But if they fail, we will not stay quiet. Agitation after agitation, programs after programs will continue."
"We want to hand over our demands to a government representative with respect. That is why we will wait here for 10 minutes. If no one comes within this time, we will announce the next program," Dr. Shafiqur Rahman set a time limit for the representative.
At this time, he requested the police officers on duty to convey the protesters' statements to the appropriate authorities of the government.
However, even after waiting for more than the set time—about 45 minutes—no one from the government came out to speak or accept the memorandum. As a result, the alliance leaders left the Secretariat gate area around 1:30 PM without submitting the memorandum.
This program was organized by the 11-party alliance to protest the fuel oil and gas crisis, excessive electricity bills, deterioration in law and order situation, and the relentless price hike of essential goods.
Earlier, at 12:40 PM, after concluding a sit-in program at Muktangan in the capital, the alliance leaders started marching towards the Secretariat with their activists and supporters. Top leaders from various levels of the 11-party alliance, including Nahid Islam, convener of the NCP (National Citizen Party), were present at the program.
