Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has stated that during the tenure of the interim government, a total of 1,604 road blockades have been carried out in the name of movements or protest demonstrations. He also mentioned that 123 different organisations were behind these blockades.
The adviser shared this information while briefing journalists after a meeting of the core committee on law and order at the conference room of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday.
The adviser said that these movements are causing traffic congestion and public suffering. The Ministry of Home Affairs has previously requested that such assemblies or movements be held at Suhrawardy Udyan or specific open grounds in the capital to avoid public inconvenience. While acknowledging everyone’s right to protest, he emphasised that although everyone may have demands, they should not cause public suffering.
At one point during the briefing, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury spoke about the national election, stating that how fair, free, impartial, and secure the national election will be depends on the political parties participating in it. The adviser said, “Our law enforcement agencies will provide full cooperation in ensuring security and maintaining law and order during the election. We are fully prepared in this regard. The free and spontaneous participation of the people is also important. Political parties must ensure that.”
He expressed optimism that with everyone’s cooperation, the current interim government can deliver a free, peaceful, and festive election.
The Home Affairs adviser mentioned that the unity among political parties after the fall of the fascist government must be maintained. For the greater interest of the nation and to transition toward democracy, all political parties must remain united, setting aside narrow personal and party interests. He commented that if unity is fractured, accomplices of fascists could exploit the situation to create chaos and anarchy.
Present at the briefing were the Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Nasimul Gani, IGP Baharul Alam, and others.
