8-point demand may become one: Shafiqur

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman said the eight-point demand of the 11-party alliance could turn into a single-point demand under circumstances of national necessity and realizing the people’s demands.

He made these remarks on Saturday morning at the inaugural rally of the 11-party alliance’s Dhaka-Rangpur long march at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka. He added that they have an eight-point demand, which could increase to nine or ten points if necessary.

Shafiqur noted that for the nation’s need, these demands could turn into a single point at any time, calling for the acceptance of the people’s demands by taking lessons from the past before such a situation is created.

He said if there is a failure to accept the demands, no kind of conspiracy or intimidation will work, as they remain in the field keeping the people’s demands at the forefront.

Regarding the long march, Shafiqur mentioned that this is not the demand of any single party, as they have taken to the field with the demands of 18 crore people, and they will return home only after securing those demands.

Among the declared eight points of the 11-party alliance are the implementation of the public mandate of the referendum, trial of the July uprising, resolution of the electricity, oil, gas, and fertilizer crisis, price control of essential commodities, stopping corruption, extortion, and land grabbing, improvement of the law and order situation, ending narrow party politicization, and implementation of the Teesta Mega Plan.

Following the rally, the long march program from Dhaka toward Rangpur officially began.