Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Professor Mia Golam Parwar has said the government is politicizing every sector. Calling such actions by the government “unconstitutional,” he said politicization is under way across city corporations, district councils, municipalities and every other body. He said that if the country did not have a party-affiliated government today, appointing administrators might have been legitimate — but since there is now an elected, party-affiliated government, it cannot do this.
The Jamaat secretary general said that if the government allows local government elections to choose public representatives, it would ease people’s suffering.
He made the remarks Friday, August 28, at a meet-the-press session with local journalists following a conference of upazila Jamaat unit presidents at the Women’s Madrasah grounds in Chauddagram Bazar, Cumilla.
Saying that the BNP government led by Tareque Rahman is drifting away from implementing the July Charter since taking power, Mia Golam Parwar said his party, BNP and several other political parties had signed on to implement the July Charter, which stated that the elected government would implement it within 180 days. He said they are trying to bring the government back to that path. He said the government’s 180 days will be complete in September, and that they hope the government will convene a session to implement the July Charter. Otherwise, he said, they will decide to launch a movement with the public to implement the charter.
Alluding to the home minister, he further said the country has one minister who speaks on everything, commenting on every ministry and belittling the opposition in parliament, while neglecting the deteriorating law-and-order situation under his own ministry.
Addressing the government, Mia Golam Parwar said: “We are not seeing any visible development. All we see everywhere is infighting among ruling-party people. There is inequality in development across the country. Fair allocations are not being made to opposition members of parliament.”
Expressing frustration, he said: “It is natural for an elected MP to carry out development work, hold inaugurations and lay foundation stones in their constituency. But the government has assigned reserved women MPs to oversee development in opposition MPs’ constituencies, acting essentially as gatekeepers — which is inappropriate. This further diminishes opposition MPs.”
The Jamaat secretary general said the opposition has 13 reserved women MPs. He said, in that case, their women MPs should be given oversight responsibility in ruling-party MPs’ constituencies as well.
Special guest at the earlier upazila Jamaat unit presidents’ conference was Cumilla South District Jamaat Amir Advocate Muhammad Shahjahan. Chaired by Chauddagram Upazila Jamaat Amir Mahfuzur Rahman and conducted by Secretary Belal Hossain, others present included Jamaat Dhaka Metropolitan working council member Sahab Uddin, municipal Jamaat Amir Maulana Ibrahim, upazila Jamaat assistant secretary Abdur Rahim, upazila Jamaat youth wing president Zainal Abedin Patwari, Majlis-e-Shura member Dr. Manzur Ahmed Saki, Abdul Kader, Yousuf Member, municipal Jamaat deputy amir Kazi Md. Yasin, secretary Mosharraf Hossain Opel, upazila sadar Shibir president Nasim Miazi, and leaders at various levels.