Play store
The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami held a protest procession and rally in Rangpur on Wednesday in response to remarks made by Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
The Rangpur city unit of Jamaat organized the protest. The procession began from the Public Library field around noon and passed through City Bazar, Paira Chattar, Jahaj Company More, Press Club and Grand Hotel More before ending at Shapla Chattar. A brief rally was held there afterward.
The rally was chaired by Rangpur Metropolitan Jamaat Amir A.T.M. Azam Khan and moderated by its Secretary K.M. Anwarul Haque Kajal. District Jamaat Secretary Enamul Haque also addressed the gathering.
A.T.M. Azam Khan said the minister’s remarks suggested that Rangpur had lagged behind in development because its people had voted for the Jatiya Party or Jamaat instead of the BNP.
“Such remarks undermine the political awareness, freedom of expression and constitutional rights of the people of Rangpur,” he said. “Which political party people choose to vote for is their constitutional and democratic right. Linking development with political preference is in no way acceptable.”
He said the government has a responsibility to ensure the legitimate rights and balanced development of people in all regions, regardless of their political affiliation.
Azam Khan also called for the creation of employment opportunities, industrialization, improvements in education and healthcare, modernization of the transport system and implementation of major projects, including the Teesta Master Plan, to address Rangpur’s longstanding deprivation.
The rally called on Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to withdraw his remarks. The protesters also demanded that the rights of the people of Rangpur be ensured without linking development to political allegiance.
Among those present at the procession were A.T.M. Azam Khan, K.M. Anwarul Haque Kajal, District Jamaat Secretary Maulana Enamul Haque, Assignment Secretary Maulana Abdul Gani and Kotwali Thana Amir Maulana Golam Kibria, along with leaders and activists from various levels of the organization.
Earlier, at an event at the Rangpur District Shilpakala Academy on Sunday, Mirza Fakhrul said, “People in Rangpur have always been left behind. Why are we left behind? We do not understand the right things. When the BNP government comes to power, you support the Jatiya Party; when the BNP government comes, you support Jamaat. So how will it happen? How will you get [development]?”
On Tuesday night, 11 Jamaat lawmakers from Rangpur held a press conference to protest the remarks. They said the people of Rangpur have the democratic right to choose which political party they want to vote for, and political preferences in any region cannot be made a condition for development.