The AL loyalists marched in a festive mood with band parties towards the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital.

They gathered in front of the institute around 3:00pm wearing colourful clothes. They danced with the rhythm of drums, sang patriotic songs and chanted slogans against militancy and all evil forces that are hindering development of the country.

Led by the AL central leaders, the long procession began marching down the streets at 4:15pm and ended at Bangabandhu Smriti Museum around 5:00pm.

The AL city unit, Jubo League, Mohila League, Mohila Jubo League, Sramik League, Swechchhasebak League and the AL ward units led by their leaders came one after another holding the national and party flags, portraits of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and party chief Sheikh Hasina.

Some enthusiastic activists made artificial tanks, guns and fighter planes and placed those on top of rickshaw vans. They posed as the freedom fighters attacking the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971 and Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh leaders Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai of recent times.

Boarding trucks, horse carts and motorcycles, they chanted the slogans: "Jamaat-Shibir-Razakar, leave the country immediately", "No space for communalists and militants in Bangladesh" and the historic "Joy Bangla, joy Bangabandhu".

Prior to the procession, the AL leaders at a rally chaired by presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury called for unity to topple the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance government.

The four-party coalition government has failed to establish the rule of law and order; it is rather hatching conspiracy against the country's sovereignty, they explained.

AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil said the Al-Badar and Al-Shams leaders, who opposed the Liberation War, are now in power, which is a threat to independence and secular democracy.

"The Liberation War was fought to establish a country where people of all walks including farmers and labourers would live with dignity and equal rights. But the defeated forces now in power have destroyed all the dreams of Bangabandhu," Jalil said.

Sajeda Chowdhury said the anti-liberation forces came to power in whatsoever way and are now conspiring to scrap the constitution and the national flag.

"Let us unite again like the times of the Liberation War and eradicate all forms of inequality, poverty, dependence and communalism," she said.

AL presidium member Suranjit Sengupta said the government dominated by the communal forces cannot hear the public outcry. They has to pay soon for not listening to the people gripped by repression, fundamentalism and extremism.

AL leader Matia Chowdhury said the "communal" government has to surrender to the patriotic parties of the country just the way Niazi, leader of the 96,000-strong Pakistani army, surrendered to the irresistible freedom fighters.

AL leaders Abdur Razzak, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Mohammad Hanif, Obaidul Kader, Mukul Bose, Abdul Mannan, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Mostafa Jamal Mohiuddin also addressed the rally moderated by Sultan Mohammad Monsur Ahmed.