Amir of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and opposition leader of the parliament. Shafiqur Rahman said, ‘Change and amendment of the constitution is the demand of the nation. We hope the government will meet this demand soon. 65 percent of people voted yes in the election. They want reform. But the desire of people is not being realized. While one part of the referendum has been implemented, another part has remained neglected so far.’
Amir of Jamaat said these things at the meeting of Eid greetings and exchange of views with journalists at Sylhet Circuit House on Sunday (March 22). Various media workers working in the district participated in the meeting. At this time opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman answered various questions of journalists.
President Md. Regarding Sahabuddin, Jamaat’s Amir said, ‘This president was practically associated with fascism. We did not want him to address the Parliament. We have no objection to the institution of the President, we have objection to the person.’ Dr. requested the government party to get rid of this matter. Shafiqur Rahman.
Shafiqur Rahman said, “Although a large part of fascism has left, its black shadow still remains. After the national election, the country turned around after the political change, but the crisis is not over yet. There is a trend of disorder, chaos and revenge in the society. The law and order situation in the country is alarming and incidents of violence are happening at various places, which is unfortunate. People’s trust in politics has decreased as politicians’ words do not match their actions. Responsible behavior of political parties is essential to build an accountable and just society.’
Regarding the referendum and reforms, the leader of the opposition party in the parliament said, “Even though the people voted for the change, it was not fully implemented. In this situation, there is a danger of creating mistrust among people again.’
Shafiqur Rahman complained of extra fare collection during Eid trips and said, ‘Strict action should be taken against such irregularities. Government should be more responsible in protecting people’s money and interests. We will play a constructive role inside and outside the Parliament as an opposition party. But I will not compromise to protect people’s rights.
Jamaat Amir said, ‘I did not boycott the last election to create a new and positive trend of politics. As in the past, we did not immediately reject the election. We said, we accepted the election with pressure on our chest. Still, organizations like TIB (Transparency International), Sujan (Citizens for Good Governance) have expressed their views on the election. We think these reports will be helpful to understand how the last election was done.
Shafiqur Rahman said, ‘When coming to Sylhet from Dhaka by road, whenever I came across various places, I said “Welcome to Sylhet”, but in reality, the lack of development in various sectors including roads is obvious. Not only roads, Sylhet’s due in all sectors should be ensured. We don’t want anything extra, we just want fair rights.’
Amir of Jamaat also said, ‘To ensure the development of Sylhet, specific planning and implementation is necessary from the government. As an opposition party, we will raise demands on behalf of the people, but the responsibility of implementation lies with the government.
Regarding the local government elections, Shafiqur Rahman said, ‘Fast local government elections are necessary to strengthen democracy at the grassroots level. People’s work should be done through public representatives, so that accountability is ensured.’
Jamaat Amir praised the tradition and social solidarity of journalist society of Sylhet in the exchange meeting and said, ‘The responsible role of journalists plays an important role in leading the society in the right direction.’
Jamaat-e-Islami Central Assistant Secretary General and Chief of Jamaat Media Cell Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, Jamaat Central Working Council Member and Sylhet Metropolitan Amir Muhammad Fakhrul Islam, Central Majlish Shura Member and Sylhet District Amir Maulana Habibur Rahman, Sylhet Region Team Member Hafiz Abdul Hai Haroon, Metropolitan Naib Amir were also present in the meeting. Hafiz Miftahuddin Ahmed and Dr. Nurul Islam Babul, Metropolitan Secretary. Shahjahan Ali, District Secretary Zainal Abedin, Metropolitan Assistant Secretary Zahedur Rahman Chowdhury and Maulana Islam Uddin and Sylhet Metropolitan Student Camp Secretary ATM Fahim etc.
After the exchange meeting with the journalists, Jamaat Amir Shafiqur Rahman visited the grave of the late Dakshin Surma Thana Amir Maulana Mujibur Rahman and met his family members.
