The shooting of Sharif Osman Hadi, an independent MP aspirant from Dhaka-8, was part of a broader conspiracy to destabilise the country, said speakers at an all-party resistance rally yesterday.

Presiding over the event at Central Shaheed Minar, Amar Desh Editor Mahmudur Rahman demanded the handover of Hadi's attackers as well as the convicted death-row killer Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal from India by December 25.

The two individuals who executed the attack on Hadi, also the spokesman of Inquilab Monch, have allegedly crossed the border into India.

"Otherwise, by the blood of Hadi, we will launch a resistance movement against every Indian establishment in Bangladesh."

If the killers are not extradited by December 25, the work permits of every Indian working in Bangladesh must be revoked, he said.

Security cannot be ensured through an "inept" home ministry and people must abandon any expectations from them.

He urged the formation of law-and-order committees in every ward, comprising all political parties, to identify "fascist collaborators" and hand them over to the law.

Mahmudur, who took over the responsibilities of Inquilab Monch as Hadi recovers from the attack, administered an oath to the assembled crowd.

"On the question of Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty, we will remain united beyond party lines. We will build resistance against any repressive, fascist and subservient politics that undermine the country's democracy, people's rights and national interests," the oath said.

"We will not allow the Indian-backed Awami League who are subservient to Indian hegemony, anti-people and anti-state forces, their collaborators, along with the cultural fascists who produce narratives in their favour, to engage in destructive politics in Bangladesh. We will not assist in their rehabilitation in politics," the oath added.o

There is no use in showing civility, said Mahfuj Alam, who recently resigned from the post of information adviser and was a key figure in the July uprising.

"Because enough is enough. We have been patient for too long."

After the fall of the Hasina-led government on August 5 last year, every house of the "terrorists" belonging to the Awami League and its 14-party allies could have been destroyed.

"But we should restraint then and that has emboldened them to do this [shoot Hadi]. If forgiving them was a mistake, then we will take an oath that we will not forgive again. If we are not safe in Bangladesh, our enemies will not be safe either."

Those who serve Indian interests or the interests of other foreign forces will also not be allowed to remain safe.

"This is the basic condition. No one should attack us. If one body falls on our side, we will take a body from their side in return."

Hadi stood tall against invisible foreign assets, who had created justifications for the attack, Mahfuj said.

"After he was attacked, everyone is silent now. There was no outcry, no protest [by foreign assets]."

He called for a stronger cultural counter-movement to resist "culturally and intellectually" the teachers, media professionals and legal experts against the July movement.

Hadi is a symbol of unity of the people against Indian hegemony, said Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar.

"He is a blazing symbol of a fearless spirit in defence of Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty. How could the Chief Election Commissioner describe this as an isolated incident? This is not an isolated incident. The attack on Hadi is part of a broader plan by those who want to turn Bangladesh into a tributary state of India, who want to reduce us to subservience and who want to engulf this country."

Whenever "July" came under attack, the chief adviser called for maintaining the "anti-fascist unity of July".

"We are doing that -- we are united. But your government has failed because you have not been able to arrest even a single armed agent of fascism."

Referring to the attack as a "package conspiracy to sabotage the election", he said that those who carried out the attack will not allow a free and fair election.

Through the attack on Hadi, July and Bangladesh itself have been attacked, said Nahid Islam, convenor of the National Citizen Party.

"Hadi has emerged as a symbol of unity of the mass uprising."

Nahid went on to call for the resignation of the home affairs adviser as he is morally unfit to remain in office.

"For the past 16 years, the intelligence agencies have been used to suppress opposition parties and dissent. They demonstrated efficiency in enforced disappearances and killings, but after August 5, that efficiency seems to have vanished."

The history of the last 54 years must be reviewed.

"Not only was victory achieved that day, but the resistance against Indian aggression also began from that very day, and it continues. Tomorrow we will not hold a victory rally; on Victory Day, we will hold a resistance rally."

If India thinks it can continue to interfere politically as before and meddle in elections, that assumption is wrong.

"India's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity also depend on Bangladesh. Therefore, India must also be cautious and maintain a respectful and dignified relationship with Bangladesh," he added.

The syndicate involved in the attack on Hadi must be crushed to the ground, said Ali Ahsan Zonaed, convenor of United People's Bangladesh.

"The Indian agent network and any Bangladeshi agencies involved must be brought before the public and punished," he added.

The interim government has failed to ensure the security of citizens, said Abu Shadik Kayem, vice-president of Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu).

Ducsu leader Fatima Tasnim Zuma, also an organiser of Inquilab Monch, said: "How dare the Chief Election Commissioner call the attack an isolated incident and still remain in office?"

"It was not just two shooters -- a syndicate was involved in this incident. A section of the state forces was also involved," she added.

AB Party secretary general Asaduzzaman Fuaad, NCP's member secretary Akhter Hossain, Islami Chhatra Shibir secretary general Nurul Islam Saddam, General Secretary of Rajshahi University Central Students' Union Salahuddin Ammar, Gono Odhikar Parishad general secretary Rashed Khan also spoke among others.

Representatives from different political and socio-cultural platforms joined the programme and expressed solidarity including Hefajat-e-Islam, Gono Sanghati Andolon, Biplobi Workers' Party, Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Janatar Dal and Bangladesh Labour Party.