Ruling party MP Rafiqul Islam Jamal from Jhalokathi-1 has demanded that the politics of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami be banned, calling the party a “traitor” to the country’s independence.
“This party was against the independence of this country in 1971. The party that was against the creation of Bangladesh. I will demand in this great parliament that they cannot do politics in Bangladesh. Their politics should also be banned like the fascists,” he said during the budget session discussion on Monday.
Speaking on the proposed budget, the MP noted that for the first time in Bangladesh’s history, the budget has allocated funds for imams and muezzins.
“Over the past 17 years, we have seen how the imam community of this country was killed by staging a militant drama. We have seen how, at Shapla Chottor, our madrasa students were persecuted and killed indiscriminately with lights turned off,” he said.
He also called on the finance minister to allocate a separate budget for Qawmi madrasas, saying those who practise Islam through Qawmi education have not received any dedicated allocation.
The MP also criticised Jamaat’s electoral practices, saying, “In the last election, they gave people heaven in exchange for votes. We have seen that through the purchase of a packet of bidi, they said all sins would be forgiven.”
He called the party’s politics in the name of Islam a series of controversial decisions and demanded its ban.
The MP praised the proposed budget for not increasing commodity prices, unlike previous years. He noted that reducing supplementary duty on essential commodities from 5 percent to 0.4 percent was a “brave step.”
“The reduction of duty on stents for heart disease and on lenses used to restore eyesight demonstrates great foresight in this humane budget,” he added.
Requesting additional speaking time from the Speaker, the MP said, “I come from a controversial area. I have to speak for my constituents. I come from an underdeveloped area.” He later highlighted problems in his constituency.
