BNP leaders have forgotten the ideology of its founder Ziaur Rahman, the proponent of multi-party democracy in the country, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, said yesterday.

He said the BNP is no longer practising democracy and can't understand the people's sentiments about reforms.

"The BNP doesn't want reforms, but the people do. If you fail to understand the people's sentiment and continue doing politics the way you are now, you may face the same fate as the Awami League," Taher said while addressing a discussion as the chief guest.

A referendum on July charter reforms must be held before the national election, the Jamaat leader said at the event organised by its Dhaka South City unit at the Paltan office, marking the National Revolution and Solidarity Day.

"There's no point in wasting time. No matter how cleverly someone tries to delay the referendum, it must come first, then the national election," he said, urging the government to issue an order to implement the July charter.

"Those who oppose holding a referendum before the national election are the same people who feared the result of student union elections. After their defeat in the Ducsu [Dhaka University Central Students' Union] polls, they conspired in various ways to stop the polls at other universities," Taher alleged at the event, which was presided over by Nurul Islam Bulbul, ameer of Jamaat's South City unit.

At another programme, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said ignoring the demand for a referendum under pressure from any political party could push the upcoming national polls into a crisis, reports BSS.

He urged the government to immediately issue an order to implement the July charter and announce a date for the referendum.

Speaking as the chief guest at an election rally in Khulna's Phultala upazila yesterday, the Jamaat leader mentioned that his party welcomes the proposal for dialogue among political parties to resolve the ongoing crisis.