Bangladesh must move beyond a politics of fear to a system where every citizen, regardless of faith, can live without apprehension and with equal rights, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said on Thursday.
Addressing a large public rally as the chief guest at the ATM Ground in Naogaon town at 11am, he said the country belongs to all its people and must be governed through inclusion, fairness and justice.
Questioning why non-Muslims should live in fear, he said a future government would ensure security and equal rights for all religious communities, adding that the safety of minorities was not a favour but a constitutional duty.
Recalling violence against the Santal community in Sahebganj of Gaibandha, he asked whether they were not citizens and brothers of the nation, blaming what he described as a former fascist system for denying justice to marginalised people.
Women’s dignity and security would be ensured at home, on the streets and at workplaces, he said, warning that no oppressor would dare harass women under a just administration.
Referring to the youth protests on July 15 after assaults on girls, he said society had shown that insults to women would not be tolerated, adding that future elections would be fought under the banner of justice.
Politics based on lineage must end, he said, rejecting a culture where kings’ sons become kings and stressing that leadership should be earned through merit.
A society should be built where the son of a rickshaw puller can rise to become prime minister through ability and opportunity, he said, adding that this would dismantle zamindari-style politics.
Issuing a warning to extortionists, corrupt individuals and bank looters, he said Jamaat would never provide them shelter and that those involved in what he called a litigation business would be brought to justice.
Accusing successive administrations over the past 54 years of mega-corruption through large projects and looting banks and insurance companies, he said money laundered abroad would be recovered and brought back into the national economy if his party came to power.
Describing Naogaon as the agricultural capital of the north, he said the district produces nearly one-tenth of the country’s total crops but has long been deprived of fair development.
A Jamaat-led government would upgrade the main road through Naogaon town into a four-lane highway and establish storage facilities and crop-processing industries so farmers receive fair prices, he said.
The rally was presided over by Naogaon district Jamaat Ameer and Naogaon-4 candidate Abdur Rakib.
Among the speakers were District Jamaat Secretary and Naogaon-5 candidate ASM Sayem, along with parliamentary candidates Mahbubul Alam from Naogaon-1, Enamul Hoc from Naogaon-2, Mahfuzur Rahman from Naogaon-3 and Khabirul Islam from Naogaon-6.
Former Dhaka University Central Students’ Union General Secretary SM Farhad and Barrister Shahrier Kabir were also present at the programme.
