Failing to stop extortion, encroachment a warning sign for ruling party: TIB

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern and resentment over three recent incidents, describing them as “not isolated but an ominous sign for the government and the ruling party”.

The organisation called for exemplary accountability for those involved and a nationwide self-purification drive within the party.

The incidents included the looting, vandalism, and encroachment of the RADDA MCH-FP Centre in Dhaka, a dispute within the local BNP over control of a water body in Kishoreganj, and the vandalism of a content creator's office.

In a statement issued on Sunday, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman described the looting, vandalism, and encroachment of the RADDA MCH-FP Centre as an embarrassing example for the government and the ruling party. 

He said, "This nonprofit organization has been providing healthcare to underprivileged and vulnerable mothers and children for fifty years. It has now been demolished before hundreds of people, under the patronage of a reserved-seat Member of Parliament and in the presence of police. For its citizens, what kind of example is the ruling party providing?”

Iftekharuzzaman said, “Since August 2024, after the fall of the authoritarian kleptocracy, a section of the leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has claimed the mantle of victory. Since then, they have faced widespread allegations of encroachment, extortion, and efforts to establish dominance across the country.”

With the political change, many of the party's leaders and activists at different levels, including at the grassroots, began acting recklessly, he said, adding that the media, observers, and political circles have expressed concern over the issue. 

“Immediately after the fall of the Awami League government, extortion and encroachment changed hands, and a section of BNP leaders and activists turned the situation into a free-for-all.”

Referring to the latest incidents, the TIB executive director said, “They are sufficient to overshadow all of the government's good deeds and initiatives and to give the public a bad impression.”

TIB said those involved in these abuses of power are directly or indirectly affiliated with the ruling party, rendering law enforcement agencies unable to take effective action.

In reality, the organisation said, a culture of arbitrariness, corruption, irregularities, and impunity is being re-established, and the government will have to bear responsibility for it on many fronts. 

TIB, therefore, demanded that the authorities properly investigate each of these incidents without delay and that those responsible be given exemplary punishment.