Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed appears more interested in everyone else’s job than his own.
On paper, his job is to maintain law and order, keep the police force functioning effectively, and ensure the safety of people’s lives and property. But anyone listening to his speeches in parliament or at public gatherings could be forgiven for wondering which ministry he actually runs.
From the economy and budget management to constitutional reform and foreign policy, there is hardly any subject on which the home minister does not speak with apparent authority. The only time he seems hesitant is when discussing his own ministry—perhaps because the country’s law and order situation is, in reality, in poor shape.
Master of everything
On Tuesday, independent lawmaker Barrister Rumin Farhana did not miss the opportunity to take aim at the home minister in parliament.
In a sarcastic tone, she remarked, “Whenever the home minister speaks, the whole country listens with admiration. I do too. But I would be much happier if he inspired us through his work at the ministry rather than through his speeches.”
Rumin went on to present statistics on murders, violence against women and children, and attacks on police officers, questioning the huge budget allocated to the ministry. She expressed doubt over whether such massive public spending would bring any real improvement in the country’s law and order situation.
Taking part in the budget debate, Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Muhammad Abdul Khalek also criticized the minister’s tendency to act as an expert on every issue while failing to manage his own ministry.
“Open any news portal,” he said, “and all you see are stories of bloodshed and dead bodies. People have no guarantee they will return home safely after stepping outside. Yet watching the home minister, one would think he alone is carrying the responsibilities of the entire cabinet,” he said, continuing, “He understands the economy, he understands constitutional reform—but he doesn’t seem to understand what the police are doing right under his nose or how people are dying across the country.”
The home minister, however, showed little interest in defending his ministry’s performance. Instead, he used much of his response to lecture parliament about Jamaat-e-Islami’s political history.
Another Jamaat MP, Saiful Alam Khan Milon, mocked the minister’s “know-it-all” approach.
“The home minister may be capable of doing many things—that is not the problem. The problem is that he doesn’t appear to be doing the job assigned to his own ministry.”
He politely reminded the minister that restoring law and order is a prerequisite for reviving the economy.
Goyeshwar’s Bodi question
The biggest surprise for the home minister came not from the opposition but from a senior leader of his own party, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy.
Speaking in parliament, Goyeshwar pointed out that the country’s largest narcotics shipments continue to enter through the Teknaf border in Cox’s Bazar—an area close to the home minister’s own home—yet the gateway remains wide open.
In a humorous jab, he said, “Earlier we used to hear about Bodi. Now Bodi is gone. So who has taken over there now? The drug traffickers are people from around the minister’s own area. Surely he should know who they are. By now, drug smuggling through that route should have stopped.”
Costly words
On the night of June 28, the home minister spoke in parliament for nearly an hour. Much of his speech focused not on his ministry’s performance but on criticizing Jamaat-e-Islami.
Frustrated by what they described as an unnecessarily long and irrelevant political lecture, opposition lawmakers staged a walkout.
The speech has since become a topic of discussion beyond parliament. Critics point out that every minute of parliamentary proceedings costs taxpayers nearly Tk 300,000. Instead of accounting for his ministry’s performance, the minister spent an hour delivering a political speech at public expense, they argue.
Ironically, the Cabinet Committee on Law and Order is supposed to meet regularly to review the country’s security situation and recommend necessary measures. Yet, apparently preoccupied with other responsibilities, the home minister has not found time to convene the committee. Its last meeting took place on May 12.
Statistics vs spin
According to police statistics, 310 murders were recorded across the country in May. The figure stood at 288 in April and peaked at 317 in March.
Violence against women and children also remained alarmingly high. In May, 1,952 women and children were reported abused, compared with 2,011 in April.
Police registered 18,149 criminal cases in May, compared with 17,180 in April.
Human rights organizations paint an even grimmer picture. According to their estimates, an average of 11 people are murdered every day in Bangladesh. During the first six months of this year alone, 1,930 people were killed nationwide.
Adding to the crisis is the growing wave of “mob justice,” where people take the law into their own hands. In May alone, there were 66 incidents of mob violence, leaving 31 people beaten to death.
Cases involving violence against women and children exceeded 2,744 during the first half of the year.
Despite these figures, the home minister insists that the country’s overall law and order situation has improved “significantly” under the present government.
He also offered an explanation for the sharp increase in recorded murders and rape cases.
“People can now file cases freely,” he said. “Previously, victims were often afraid to approach police because of social and political interference, so many crimes went unreported. Now there is no interference. The police are fully independent. That is why more people are filing cases, making crime statistics appear higher on paper.”
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed appears so occupied with “other responsibilities” that he rarely has time to sit in his own ministry. They say he spends more time at the Prime Minister’s Office than at the Secretariat, while dividing his working hours between his official residence on Bailey Road and his private residence in Gulshan.
It may be admirable for a cabinet minister to possess knowledge of every subject. But when a minister leaves his own answer sheet blank while trying to write everyone else’s, the public no longer sees him as someone who gets the job done.
