Dr. Shafiqur Rahman MP, Amir of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Leader of the Opposition in the National Parliament, stated, “We are yet to see any positive signs regarding the local government elections. A retired BNP cadre has been appointed as the Additional Secretary to the Election Commission. The public is rightfully questioning why a partisan individual had to be brought into this role. Furthermore, the Chief Whip of Parliament—whose duty is to maintain discipline in the House—went to his constituency and declared that areas where BNP candidates do not win will receive no government allocations. This is embarrassing and amounts to intimidating the public in advance. A fair election is impossible under such threats and partisan influence.”
He added, “However, before the elections, we will certainly attempt to clear the path. We will demand a level playing field. Once equal opportunities are guaranteed for all, we will participate in the election. We do not want to be anyone’s ‘scapegoat’; we want to fight for the people’s rights. We want whoever the public chooses through their votes to assume power.”
The Opposition Leader made these remarks during a courtesy meeting and view-exchange session with print and electronic media journalists at Moon Hallroom of the Moulvibazar Circuit House at 11:00 AM on Saturday (24 October).
Presided over by Engineer Md. Shahed Ali, Amir of Moulvibazar District Jamaat, and moderated by District Secretary Md. Yamir Ali, the meeting was attended by Advocate Ehsanul Mahboob Zubair, Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and Kazi Mohsin Ahmad, Secretary of Habiganj District Jamaat.
Pointing out the lack of visible improvement in law and order, Opposition Leader Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said, “We are fortunate to have a Home Minister who serves all ministries, even though his primary responsibility is to oversee his own ministry. Yet, he has failed to control narcotics, illegal firearms, or restore social order. There is no visible improvement in the country’s law and order situation. Those in charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs and key government figures claim that the law and order situation is ‘better than before.’ But I have yet to understand the metric used to declare it ‘better than before’.”
Addressing the journalists, the Jamaat Amir said, “Newspapers are the mirror of society. It is through this mirror that society’s flaws and shortcomings are reflected. After independence, in 1975, media and politics both came under attack. A decision was made to establish a one-party system in place of multi-party democracy. During that period, the press was brought under full government control, leaving no media outlets in existence except for four.”
This was Dr. Shafiqur Rahman’s first visit to his home district of Moulvibazar following the national parliamentary election. His visit generated immense enthusiasm among local leaders and activists.
Earlier at 8:00 AM, he was received at Osmani International Airport in Sylhet by Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Advocate Ehsanul Mahboob Zubair, Sylhet City Jamaat Amir Md. Fakhrul Islam, Moulvibazar District Jamaat Amir Engineer Md. Shahed Ali, Sylhet City Jamaat Naib-e-Amir Dr. Nurul Islam Babul, Sylhet District Jamaat Naib-e-Amir Professor Abdul Hannan, Sylhet City Jamaat Secretary Md. Shahjahan Ali, Sylhet District Jamaat Secretary Md. Zainal Abedin, Moulvibazar District Jamaat Assistant Secretary Aziz Ahmad Kibria, and Islami Chhatra Shibir Moulvibazar Town Unit President Kazi Dayan Ahmad, along with other local leaders.
