PM takes hard line on terrorism, extortion and maintaining law and order

Stalin Sarkar

The hottest news in the country now is the resignation of Ms. Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti from her reserved women’s seat in parliament. She is a BNP member. The National Parliament Secretariat issued a notice declaring her seat vacant after she submitted her resignation yesterday.

Ms. Mishti quit after a row over the attack and vandalism at the Radda Health Care Centre. In 2006, she was the commissioner of Ward No. 8 under Shah Ali Police Station. She was also president of the Shomomona Dokandar Samabay Samity Limited, and she applied to the housing and public works authorities to allocate the Radda Centre land.

Ms. Mishti is the wife of the late Mr. Saidur Rahman Newton, a former Chhatra Dal leader and former councillor of Ward No. 8 under Dhaka North City Corporation. She is also the sister of Mr. Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu, a former BNP MP of Dhaka 8. She was elected AGS of the college students’ union as a Chhatra Dal leader at Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College.

Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman asked Ms. Mishti, a member of the BNP family, to resign. With this step, he sent a message to the people and to party workers. He also dissolved the Dhaka Metropolitan North unit committee of the BNP.

A responsible BNP leader said the prime minister will spare no one in the fight against terror and extortion. He said the same applies to keeping law and order. By removing Ms. Mishti, the prime minister told ministers, state ministers, MPs and senior leaders that nobody will be spared for controversial acts.

The leader also said that if Home Minister Mr. Salahuddin Ahmed fails to control the law and order situation, a state minister will be appointed there to share the duty. Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman has now become everyone’s target. Many people see his careful decisions as a success, and his foreign policy as a success too.

The government has also made foreign investors more interested in Bangladesh. After the energy crisis became global, he worked with firm resolve and solved part of the gas and power crisis in a short time. He won diplomatic success at the United Nations and showed the international community that he is acceptable. He also won their agreement to help Bangladesh’s development.

He welcomed the China funded Tista mega project in a positive way. He also welcomed the proposal for a China, Myanmar and Bangladesh economic corridor. He has made the administration faster and has changed himself to bring tolerance into the political culture. People see programmes such as the Family Card and the Farmer Card in a positive way.

Many people cannot bear these steady successes. Lies are spreading against Mr. Tarique Rahman in the media and on social media. Sometimes street programmes try to show him as a man against the people. Sometimes people tag the BNP as extortionists to cut the elected ruling party off from the public.

Mr. Tarique Rahman is moving ahead under the slogan “Bangladesh First”. He is rebuilding a country that was economically ruined for 20 years, buried in foreign loans, short of investment and full of crores of jobless people. He is taking careful decisions for it. At this very time, Jamaat, some political forces and some professionals and intellectuals have targeted him.

They want to stop the broken economy from standing up again. They do not want unemployment to end. They want foreign investors to lose interest in new investment in Bangladesh. So they create one issue after another and try to put the blame on the prime minister.

To spread lies against the prime minister, a huge “bot army” has been activated on social media, along with political programmes. Sometimes they call Mr. Tarique Rahman against reform. Sometimes they say he is not implementing the referendum verdict, and they spread these lies with careful planning. The alliance of 11 parties led by the opposition Jamaat held long march programmes from Dhaka to Chattogram and Rangpur. They failed to build public opinion against the prime minister, and now they open one poisonous front after another.

Inside the BNP, on the other hand, some people have become busy with extortion and land grabbing. Yesterday, at a public meeting in Feni, Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman made a charge. He said, “Some people are using a few unwanted incidents in the country to plot chaos. If development is hurt, they must take the blame.”

He also said that the acts of the workers of one political party are hurting Bangladesh’s name at home and abroad. He said they still go around lecturing others. He added that the BNP government is determined to establish the rule of law.

The BNP took power while carrying the burden of a broken economy. Even so, the prime minister is trying to speed up the administration with limited resources and effective steps, while keeping all sides happy. Yet a group has entered the field in the name of political opposition to damage the prime minister’s image. During the interim government, this group ran a big campaign saying Mr. Tarique Rahman would not return from London.

When he came back, they tried in many ways to delay the 13th national parliamentary election. But Mr. Tarique Rahman held firm, and the interim government had to hold the election on 12 February. After taking oath as prime minister, he has moved ahead with careful thought. As a national leader, he breaks himself down, builds himself up and corrects himself every day.

India used to spread slander in Mr. Tarique Rahman’s name. That same India is now desperate to take him on a visit to Delhi. The running around of Indian National Security Adviser Mr. Ajit Doval and High Commissioner Mr. Dinesh Trivedi in Dhaka shows this. The visit of RAW chief Mr. Parag Jain to Dhaka also shows how eager they are.

After becoming prime minister, Mr. Tarique Rahman first rushed to China to get the development partner on his side. He held a private meeting with Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping. He accepted the Tista mega project and the proposal for the three country economic corridor.

At the UN session, he met presidents and prime ministers of 11 countries, including the heads of state and government of Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. He also met the Prince of Saudi Arabia. He met heads of international financial bodies and human rights bodies and made them interested in investing in Bangladesh. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Humayun Kabir played an important role in this.

Some people had claimed that Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman would get no attention at the UN session in New York. To their surprise, US President Mr. Donald Trump himself praised Mr. Tarique Rahman. Foreign Minister Mr. Khalilur Rahman, who was elected president of the UN General Assembly, also used a diplomatic move. He crushed the dream of Hindutva India to join the Security Council.

While Mr. Tarique Rahman shows one success after another, opposition lies and the controversial acts of some party leaders and workers embarrass the government. People are trying to tag the BNP with extortion over the attack on Studio Brownfish. It belongs to content creator Mr. Salman Muqtadir of the Newguinea Properties residential project in South Manikdi, Dhaka. But no one from the BNP demanded any extortion money there. The incident happened over a land dispute.

Mr. Salman Muqtadir first claimed live on social media that the attack happened because he did not pay the BNP. Later he said that no one from the BNP demanded money. The Jamaat chief made sharp remarks on the land dispute. NCP convener Mr. Nahid Islam went one step further and asked how such an incident could happen in the prime minister’s constituency.

The fact is that Manikdi falls in the prime minister’s constituency, but it is a Cantonment area. Nobody from outside can do anything there. The prime minister does not care about this planned opposition lie against the BNP. He is moving ahead in his own way. His strict message to party leaders and workers is that nobody will be spared.

He has not spared members of his cabinet either. After controversy over some acts, he removed one minister, Mr. Zahir Uddin Swapan, from the cabinet. Several party sources confirmed that complaints of wrongdoing have been raised against more ministers, state ministers, MPs and powerful bureaucrats. The opposition and some other parties have demanded the resignation of Home Minister Mr. Salahuddin Ahmed, charging him with failure.

A charge of heavy nepotism against Local Government State Minister Mr. Shah E Alam has gone viral on social media. The finance minister stays abroad most of the time, and he is sick when he is in the country. Culture Minister Mr. Nitai Roy Chowdhury gave government financial help to about 50 Hindu students in his election area. He did not give it to a single Muslim student, and this caused controversy. Complaints of various wrongdoing have also been raised against several other ministers and state ministers.

Most MPs are not looking after tested and dedicated party workers in their own constituencies because of nepotism. Complaints with specific information on these matters have been submitted to the prime minister’s office. A firm stand will be taken on these complaints. Party workers have also been warned about the lobbying and large money deals over the appointment of fertiliser dealers across the country.

Local government elections will be held early next year. So if strict steps are taken against party workers now, the party may suffer some organisational harm in the field. Even so, in 1974, Mr. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ran a “joint forces operation” led by the army to stop smuggling. In 2002, Ms. Khaleda Zia ran the “Clean Heart Operation” to control law and order. Mr. Tarique Rahman may take similar strict steps to control the present situation.

In the 1974 operation, all those arrested by the army were Awami League leaders and workers. In the Clean Heart Operation under Ms. Khaleda Zia, most of those arrested were BNP, Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal leaders and workers. The ruling party faced a temporary problem because so many of its workers were arrested. But after the operation came success, and the image of the party and its leader grew brighter.

The prime minister’s information adviser, Mr. Zahed Ur Rahman, spoke at a press conference. He said, “The government may decide to deploy joint forces when the state and the people need it, to keep law and order under control.” He also said, “The police are increasing their efforts. But in some places, duty is being neglected.”

Sources claim that preparations are on for an operation under a new name, like the Clean Heart Operation. It will aim to stop terror, extortion and land grabbing. Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman is committed to the people on development, ending unemployment and peace and order.

Meanwhile, notable people of the country have spoken in favour of stronger and joint action by various forces. They want this to stop extortion, land grabbing and the law and order problem. Recently, 38 notable citizens expressed deep concern over land and house grabbing, attacks and extortion in many places. In a joint statement, they said criminals must not escape under the cover or identity of any political party, whatever their political identity.

Political analysts say that if extortion and land grabbing are not stopped, the ruling party will face a serious image crisis. Home Minister Mr. Salahuddin Ahmed said clearly that no formal decision has been made yet to form any “special joint force”. But he said the regular joint drives of the police, BGB, SRB and Ansar will be made stronger everywhere in the country. He added, “This joint effort will continue strictly to stop terror, drugs and extortion.”

The Police Headquarters said the police are always ready for any joint forces operation to keep law and order fully under control and to stop crime. It said the police will take all needed legal steps at once when they get orders from the top level. Police spokesperson and Assistant Inspector General Mr. H M Shahadat Hossain told the media this earlier this week. He said the police are always ready for joint forces operations and will take every legal step as soon as they get clear orders from the proper authority.