Jamaat long march worsening fuel crisis, says PM aide Rashed Khan

Prime Minister’s Political Assistant Rashed Khan has accused the Jamaat-e-Islami led opposition alliance of worsening the country’s fuel crisis and causing public disruption through its Dhaka-Chattogram long march.

“Public suffering and the fuel crisis are being made worse by blocking roads and wasting 100,000 litres of fuel,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday morning.

Rashed also said the programme was disrupting traffic on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, which carries thousands of passenger and goods vehicles every day.

“This will cause losses worth millions of taka to the state,” he said.

The Jamaat-led 11-party alliance launched the long march on Saturday to press home a series of demands, including implementation of the referendum result, justice over the July killings, measures to address energy and fertiliser shortages, action against extortion and corruption, improvements in law and order, and an end to partisan influence.

Rashed rejected the opposition’s criticism of the government over the energy crisis, arguing that the problems had built up over many years.

“Trying to place the blame for 18 to 20 years of problems, crises and mismanagement on a six-month-old government is foolish,” he said.

He also claimed that the programme had failed to draw significant public participation.

“They thought crowds would pour onto both sides of the road and that the Jamaat amir’s vehicle would not be able to move because of the turnout,” he wrote.

“But even after so much domestic and foreign investment in the long march, the Jamaat-led nine-party alliance could not attract ordinary people.”

Rashed also criticised the alliance’s six-point campaign, saying the government was already working to implement the July National Charter.

“The government is making the utmost effort to implement the signed July National Charter. Therefore, the public has no interest in the opposition’s six-point demands,” he wrote.

He accused Jamaat of imposing the long march on the public for partisan interests.

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman announced the broader programme of long marches at a sit-in in Dhaka’s Muktangan on Aug 6.

Further marches are planned from Dhaka to Rangpur on Sept 19, Khulna on Oct 10 and Sylhet by rail on Oct 24, followed by a mass rally in Dhaka on Nov 14.