Law and order will not improve with Home Minister unchanged: Nahid

Keeping Salahuddin Ahmed in the post of Home Minister will not help improve the country’s law and order situation, said opposition party Chief Whip and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam.

“The law enforcers did nothing while vandalism continued for three hours at night. This is not acceptable. We think these incidents happened at the government’s provocation, with state backing and direct sponsorship by ruling party people,” the NCP leader said at an emergency press briefing on the law and order situation at 11:30am on Monday (28September) in the capital.

Nahid said, “We think the pace of anarchy, encroachment, terrorism and extortion that the BNP started after August 6, 2024, is continuing till now. The vandalism at the Radda Health Care Centre and content creator Salman Muqtadir’s studio has made it clear to everyone how the administration remains inactive. It has proved how the country’s law and order situation has deteriorated.”

He said vandalism took place for three hours at night in Mirpur, during which a building was demolished. Allegations have surfaced about the involvement of local BNP leaders and the MP of the concerned constituency.

“Conducting such an incident for three hours is impossible without the indirect assistance of the administration. We think the incident occurred with the direct involvement of local BNP leaders, at the government’s provocation and with administrative backing,” Nahid said.

Similarly, Nahid said the administration remained inactive during the vandalism at content creator Salman Muqtadir’s studio.

“Clear destruction has taken place. The administration failed to prevent and stop it,” he said.

He said different stories were now being circulated about who was responsible for the incidents and how the victims were allegedly responsible for what happened.

“Efforts are ongoing to blame the victims in different ways. We think the government is preparing different dramas on the issue,” he said.

Nahid said the two incidents occurred in the capital and came to light because they were reported in the media. However, the situation across the country is even worse, he claimed.

“Among the many incidents, we have seen conflicts over the occupation of an auto-rickshaw stand in Habiganj and attempts to take control of a madrasa in Savar, as reported by the media. There is widespread anarchy across the country. Questions have arisen as to whether any functional law enforcement agencies remain in the country,” he said.

The NCP leader said that before the national election, the BNP had claimed that the law and order situation would return to normal after an elected government came to power.

“But we have now witnessed that the law and order situation has deteriorated after the BNP government came to power. They have failed to control their party leaders and workers. Rather, encroachment is continuing across the country with the assistance of law enforcement agencies,” he said.

The NCP leader also criticised the government’s handling of candidates who passed the examinations for assistant teacher positions in government primary schools but were deprived of appointment.

He said no candidate who passed the required tests should be deprived of appointment.

Referring to the ousted Awami League regime’s alleged practice of giving government jobs to party loyalists, Nahid said the current government should not repeat such practices.