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Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD on Wednesday placed six demands, including declaring April 10 as Republic Day since Bangladesh’s Proclamation of Independence was adopted on this day in 1971, to run the country in the spirit of liberation war.

The party made the demands at a discussion marking the day at the National Press Club.

Their other demands are—formulation of the basic principles of state management in the light of the three ideals of the Declaration of Independence; organising a referendum to radically change the ‘ineffective’ constitution of 1972 to introduce a constitution suitable for an independent country; establishing participatory democracy by giving the constitutional rights to all the social forces to participate in the running of the state along with the political parties; forming federal government, bicameral parliament and provinces replacing the current system of centralised power; and introducing autonomous local government system.

Addressing the programme, JSD president ASM Abdur Rob said that those who speak against injustice and oppression cannot live in this country nowadays.

‘If these murderers and power grabbing government are not ousted, living in this country will be difficult for the common people,’ he said.

‘We made this country independent through the War of Liberation... We fought not to see the absence of democracy, we fought not to become deprived of our right to speak out against injustice,’ he said.

Calling on all Rob said, ‘Wake up... Save the country, save the people. Take forward the fight to bring back democracy defeating the Awami occupation government.’

He also said that democracy-loving people will observe April 10 as Republic Day from the next year. 

Addressing the programme, BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said that the forthcoming upazila election is another ‘voting scam’ of the ruling party.

‘They [government] are doing upazila elections. In the country where there is no vote there is no scope to participate in the vote. And where there is no rival, where there is no participation, what kind of a vote is it?’ he said.

‘There is nothing left in their attempts to break the unity of the opposition parties. Everything has been tried, from money to intimidation, from prison to suppression, from suppression to torture,’ he said.

Referring to the ‘political success’ of the opposition in the ongoing movement as voter turnout in the January 7 general election was low, he said, ‘95 per cent of the people did not go to the polling stations in that election and now the government has taken a new strategy.’

‘This time they thought that people are afraid of boat [AL electoral symbol]... If they hear about boat, they probably won’t go to the polling station. That is why they have left out the party symbol in the [upazila] election,’ he said.

Moderated by JSD general secretary Shahid Uddin Mahmood Swapon, Nagarik Oikya president Mahmudur Manna, Bangladesh Jasad president Sharif Nurul Ambia, Revolutionary Workers Party general secretary Saiful Huq, Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki, Bhashani Anusari Parishad convener Sheikh Rafiqul Islam Babul, and Rastra Sanskar Andolon chief coordinator Hasnat Quaiyum also spoke at the programme, among others.