Govt to take strict stance on unrest, opposition won't remain idle

The government and the opposition became vocal in the National Parliament over the existing law and order situation  and that the treasury bench said they will teach a lesson to the ones trying to destabilise country.

The opposition accused the government of failure in maintaining law and order, stating that the vandalism of buses, a bomb explosion on the premises of the Special Branch (SB) headquarters, and arson on a police vehicle are evidence of growing insecurity. On the other hand, the ruling party stated that if any attempt is made to create unrest or instability in the country, the law enforcement agencies will suppress it with a firm hand. They argued that symbolic incidents like setting fire to one or two vehicles in the dead of night or exploding a couple of cocktails do not signify a deterioration of the law and order situation.

Such discussions took place on Tuesday during the second day of the fourth session of the 13th National Parliament. Leader of the Opposition and Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, said, "As the opposition, we neither want to take responsibility for failure, nor do we want to fail. If the government fails, the opposition will discharge its duties. We will not remain idle either."

Expressing concern over recent cocktail explosions and arson incidents across various parts of the country, he said, "We can clearly see the ministry responsible for maintaining law and order being ineffective. No effectiveness is visible to us here."

He further added, "The government holds the responsibility for the public anxiety created by the country's law and order situation. How can the Ministry of Home Affairs evade this? There is no room to avoid it." The Jamaat Amir noted, "Cocktail explosions are taking place even in front of the Army Golf Club, the Special Branch (SB) headquarters of the police, and at police station gates."

Highlighting repeated attacks and arson on police vehicles in Gopalganj, he said that ruling party offices are being attacked, vandalized, and looted, while opposition leaders and activists are being attacked in various places. "After so many incidents, there is no information available on if anyone has been arrested or not. In a few instances, general people caught the suspects and handed them over to law enforcement," he said.

Shafiqur Rahman questioned why the deterioration of the situation could not be prevented despite the presence of various forces in the country, including the Police, BGB, Armed Police Battalion (APBn), and Ansar Battalion.

On the same day, two opposition leaders demanded a statement in Parliament from Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmad regarding the country's law and order situation. Before the Jamaat Amir, the Convener of the National Citizens Party (NCP) and Opposition Chief Whip, Nahid Islam, stood on a point of order to demand an answer from the government on the same issue. He alleged that supporters of the ousted Awami League government are carrying out covert attacks across different parts of the country."Buses are being set on fire, and we have heard news of one person dying. Today (Tuesday), Hasib Al Islam—a student of Dhaka University, president of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti, and one of the key coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement—was subjected to a covert attack in Moulvibazar. Cocktail explosions occurred at Dhaka University, and a BNP office was vandalized," Nahid reported.In response to the speeches by the two opposition leaders regarding the law and order situation, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmad said, "Setting fire to one or two vehicles in the dark of night or exploding a couple of cocktails does not render the country's political situation unstable. Combining these few symbolic incidents to call the country's law and order situation extremely dire is, I believe, not logical."He added, "If I have to give a statement on whether the law and order situation has improved or deteriorated, I will do so tomorrow (Wednesday) under Rule 300. Today (Tuesday) I am just sharing a few words. Fascism has fallen through a mass uprising. If any attempt is made to create an opportunity for that force to return through conspiracies, it will be exposed before the nation. I want to reassure the countrymen that no conspiracy—whether inside the country, beyond the borders, or combined—will be allowed to materialize."