Leader of the Opposition and Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Wednesday said not taking oath as a member of the State Reform Council is tantamount to dishonouring ‘July 2024’.
“We believe that not taking oath as a member of the State Reform Council amounts to insulting July. It is because of July that this election was held and Mr. Tarique Rahman became the Prime Minister, and I became the Opposition Leader. Without July, could we have reached this position” he said.
He made the remarks while taking part in a street cleaning programme with party leaders and activists in the capital’s Monipur area early in the morning. The programme began around 6am.
During the campaign, he personally swept the streets and collected waste into a designated vehicle, spending around 15 to 20 minutes on the cleaning drive.
Responding to questions from journalists, Shafiqur Rahman said July must be recognised and honoured, and it is the sacred duty of the parliament to implement reform proposals that have emerged from the aspirations of July.
“If the government takes initiative, we will fully cooperate as the opposition. If it does not, we will speak on behalf of the people and will not give up,” he said.
He also mentioned that they had taken two oaths the previous day, as members of parliament and as members of the State Reform Council, with the aim of contributing positively to the country. “Alongside cleaning the streets, we want to remove the dirt from people’s minds through reforms and humanistic correction,” he added.
He said the programme aimed to convey a message to residents of Mirpur and the country about building a clean society and environment, stressing that a clean environment positively influences people’s mindset and social responsibility.
Urging party units to continue such efforts regularly, he said each organisational unit should spend at least half an hour daily after Fajr prayers on cleanliness drives, which could later expand to other social service activities with family participation.
He expressed the hope that Mirpur would become a model area and said they would not wait for government funds for such initiatives, though the area should not be deprived of its legitimate entitlements.
Jamaat’s Central Executive Council member and Dhaka North Ameer Md Selim Uddin, Nayeb-e-Ameer Abdur Rahman Musa, Assistant Secretary Dr Fakhruddin Manik, Barrister Saif Uddin Khaled and many other leaders and activists attended the programme.
