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Professor Anu Muhammad, a member of the Democratic Rights Committee, has raised questions about where the interim government is implementing reforms. He said, “We do not understand where the reforms are being implemented. If reforms are to take place, they will have a reflection in the lives of the people. They have no reflection in the lives of the people.”

At a protest rally organized by the Democratic Rights Committee in Purana Paltan in the capital on Friday afternoon, Anu Muhammad said that reforms are not reflected in the prices of goods. They are not reflected in the law and order situation. There is no reflection of reforms in the repression and uncertainty in various places. In order to bring about reforms, we must come out of the place of dependence on imperialism.

The Democratic Rights Committee organized the rally to demand “the reopening of closed factories, payment of outstanding wages, ensuring workers’ rights, and an end to harassment of workers in false cases.”

In his speech as the president of the rally, Professor Anu Muhammad said that the government imposed VAT on the people a few days ago due to the agreement with the IMF. This has increased the prices of goods. People in the government say that they lack money. It cannot be done without taking a loan from the IMF.

Anu Muhammad, a member of the Democratic Rights Committee, said that the main goal of imperialist institutions is to leave all the wealth of a country in the hands of some business groups. These imperialist forces have played a very active role behind the emergence and development of the looting capitalist class that occurred during Sheikh Hasina’s dictatorship. Things are supposed to change after the interim government comes. But it seems that there is no difference.

Stating that workers have died after being shot during this government while agitating for arrears of wages, Anu Muhammad said that the matter is unbelievable. No matter how much the interim government talks, if the political power of the workers is not created, they will not take any action on behalf of the workers. At that time, he also demanded the abolition of the industrial police.

Anu Muhammad believes that the people of Bangladesh have full rights over the factories that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s advisor Salman F. Rahman built by looting people’s money. He said that keeping these factories open is one of the government’s responsibilities. But the government has made inconsiderate decisions to close the factories, leaving about 50,000 workers unemployed.

Filmmaker Akram Khan said that the rightful representation of marginalized people like workers is not seen in this government either. At the rally, he said that discrimination is becoming more apparent day by day.

General Secretary of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, Mosherefa Mishu, mentioned that cases are being filed against workers under a special law made by the despotic government that fell for their just demands. Demanding the withdrawal of the cases filed against the workers, the release of the arrested workers and an end to harassment, he said, ‘… otherwise we will understand that this regime is no different from the previous regime.’

Montu Ghosh, President of the Garment Workers Trade Union Center, alleged at the rally that this government is doing the opposite of what it said after coming to power.

Labor leaders AKM Zahirul Islam, Harun-or-Rashid Bhuiyan, Masum Billah, Satyajit Biswas, and others spoke at the protest rally moderated by Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, a member of the Democratic Rights Committee.

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