Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said that successive governments over the past 54 years have plundered the country and left it in ruins.
He warned that unless the mindset and character of those in power change, the people of the country will gain no benefit.
Shafiqur made the remarks during an election rally at Shaheed Abrar Fahad Stadium in Kushtia on Monday.
He said that despite changes after fifteen and a half years, law and order remained fragile, and the army struggled alone to maintain control. He said, “Jamaat-e-Islami stood by the country during that difficult time.”
Shafiqur alleged that the previous government executed top Jamaat leaders and destroyed their homes with bulldozers. Even after banning the party in desperation, they could not survive politically, he added.
Addressing local concerns, the Jamaat chief claimed that rivers in Kushtia have turned into deserts. “The money meant for river dredging does not reach the rivers; it ends up in people’s stomachs,” he said.
He also criticised the resurgence of extortion and litigation after 5 August. He condemned “private taxes” or local extortion imposed on businesspeople, emphasising that “Jamaat does not engage in politics to fill its own stomach.”
The Jamaat chief expressed frustration over the closure of Kushtia’s sugar mills. He recalled former industry minister Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami’s honesty, saying Nizami had made loss-making mills profitable during his tenure.
He promised that if Jamaat came to power, it would bring revolutionary changes to all sectors of the country.
The rally was attended by party candidates from Kushtia-1, 2, 3, and 4 constituencies, along with senior leaders of the 11-party alliance.
