BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday stated that extremism is being spread in the country in a very strategic manner.
“Debate and discussions are a normal part of a democratic system. However, the trend of debates is causing despair among the people,” he said while speaking at a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club.
Fakhrul also mentioned that the inequalities entrenched in Bangladesh’s state structure for decades cannot be eradicated overnight, although he acknowledged that structural reforms are necessary.
He further added that reforms in the state framework and electoral process are still at an early stage.
The BNP leader said that the recent mass uprising has opened a new opportunity for change but cautioned that sustainable reforms require well-defined planning, political sincerity, and structural change.
Fakhrul emphasized that a functional democracy and just society cannot be expected without restructuring the existing state system, which, according to him, fosters inequalities and corruption.
He pointed out how bureaucratic centralization forces citizens, including schoolteachers, to come to Dhaka for even minor issues that could be resolved at the district level.
This system, Fakhrul alleged, is designed to sustain bribery and rent-seeking, extending from recruitment processes in schools to universities.