Opposition Chief Whip and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam on Saturday blamed local administrative negligence for inadequate relief to flood victims in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram and accused the BNP-backed Chattogram mayor of failing to tackle the city's chronic waterlogging.
"We pray for the people affected by floods in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram. But we are seeing that, due to the negligence of the local administration, flood-hit people are not receiving adequate assistance. The BNP-backed mayor has failed to take any effective measures to resolve Chattogram's waterlogging," Nahid told a divisional rally in Rangpur.
Addressing the eleven-party alliance rally at Rangpur Zilla School Ground, Nahid also accused the government of failing to stop push-ins and border killings.
"If the government cannot stop push-ins or prevent border killings, it should remove the word 'Nationalist' from its party's name," he said, in an apparent swipe at the ruling BNP.
The rally, organised to demand implementation of the referendum verdict, speedy execution of the Teesta Mega Project, an end to border push-ins and measures to ease public hardship, drew what organisers described as hundreds of thousands of people despite heavy rain. Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman attended as the chief guest.
Nahid said Rangpur Division had once again been deprived in the national budget despite expectations that the first budget of the post-uprising government would prioritise the region.
"Allocations for Rangpur have been reduced. No major development project has been included, Rangpur City Corporation has been left out of development funding, while allocations are going to Shibganj in Bogura under the Gopalganj model," he alleged.
Calling for a special allocation for Rangpur, he urged the government to immediately implement the Teesta Mega Project.
He also criticised the reduction of allocations for opposition-held constituencies, saying the government could stop the salaries of opposition MPs if it wished, but "cannot deprive the people of opposition constituencies of their rights simply because their representatives criticise the government."
Nahid further accused the BNP of repeatedly betraying democratic movements.
"The BNP has betrayed the referendum. Its history is a history of betrayal. It benefited from every mass uprising but betrayed each one. It betrayed the referendum, the 31-point reform agenda, the July Charter and democracy itself," he said.
He said the opposition remained united in implementing the referendum verdict and would continue its movement "both in parliament and on the streets," adding that the responsibility had been entrusted to them by "Abu Sayeed, Mugdha and Hadees Bhai."
Among those addressing the rally were Liberal Democratic Party Chairman Col (Retd) Oli Ahmad, NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain and other senior leaders of the eleven-party alliance.