Bangladesh Opposition launches massive 246-km motor convoy rally pressing govt on 6-point demands

DHAKA: In the largest organised anti-government demonstration since the formation of the new administration following the February 12 general elections, an 11-party opposition coalition in Bangladesh kicked off a 246-kilometre “long march” motor convoy on Saturday.

The procession, comprising nearly 1,000 vehicles, set off from Motijheel’s Shapla Chattar in Dhaka around 8 am and is scheduled to culminate in a major rally at Chattogram’s historic Laldighi Maidan.

The road march was officially inaugurated by Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman alongside key leaders of the 11-party opposition alliance, which includes the National Citizen Party (NCP), a prominent movement born out of recent student-led uprisings and the Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party).

Speaking during the rally, AB Party chairman Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan Monju clarified that while the movement does not seek to overthrow the government, it demands immediate action on critical domestic issues.

The protesters have laid out a charter of demands that touches almost every aspect of daily life. At the heart of it is the call for a Gono Vote — a referendum to push through long-promised constitutional and political reforms, giving people a direct say in the nation’s future.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief and opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman has vowed to continue the movement to establish the rights of the country’s 18 crore people until all their demands are met.

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Closely linked is the demand to honour the July Resolution, to deliver on the political promises and justice frameworks that emerged from last year’s student-led July movement.

Beyond politics, people are struggling with a deepening economic and resource crisis, with severe shortages of electricity and natural gas crippling homes and businesses. They are also raising alarm over the worsening law and order situation across both cities and rural areas, where security concerns have grown.

And underlying it all is a larger call for public rights and good governance, for administrative transparency and judicial fairness that restores trust between the state and its citizens.

“We started our long march, as per 6 points demand… hopeful that the government will consider our very reasonable demand, and we hope that all people are united with us. The implementation of the Gono Vote… and then our July resolution, and then the electricity and gas crisis, and then the law and order situation… our demand is only for justice, and the people’s rights will be victory,” said Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan Monju, Chairman of AB Party.

BDNews24 reported that Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, the alliance’s top leader, announced the long march and mass rally programmes from a sit-in at Dhaka’s Muktangan on August 6.

The Bangladeshi outlet reported, citing the announced schedule, that the alliance is set to hold long marches from Dhaka to Rangpur on September 19, Khulna on October 10 and Sylhet by train on October 24, with a mass rally is scheduled to be held in Dhaka on November 14. (ANI)