Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami held a mass procession and brief rally in Ranishankail, Thakurgaon, demanding implementation of the July Charter and the referendum verdict. Organized by the party’s upazila unit on Saturday, the procession travelled through several streets in the town before ending at Shibdighi July Square, where leaders addressed the gathering.

Mizanur Rahman Master, former amir of Thakurgaon district Jamaat, spoke as chief guest. The event was chaired by Upazila Jamaat amir Vice Principal Rafiqul Islam. Speakers included upazila secretary Minnatullah Pathan, district Workers Welfare Federation president Matiur Rahman, upazila youth division president Mokarram Hossain and district Chhatra Shibir president Amir Ahmed, along with other organizational leaders.

Speakers said implementing the July Charter would close avenues for corruption, money laundering and irregularities. They alleged that a group opposed its implementation and did not want to accept the referendum verdict. Calling on the government to act immediately, they said 70 percent of people had supported reforms in the referendum and claimed that delays in implementing reform proposals had created public disappointment.