BNP won’t show leniency to criminals for party ties, influences: Prince

BNP Joint Secretary General and Mymensingh District Council Administrator Syed Emran Saleh Prince has said that criminals have no party affiliation and that no one will be spared for committing crimes, regardless of how influential they are.

He made the remarks on Thursday afternoon while attending the Season-2 final of a football tournament organised by Majhiyail Swapnopuri XI at the Nagua brickfield ground in Dhara Union of Haluaghat upazila in Mymensingh. Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony after the match, Emran Saleh Prince said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who is committed to ensuring the security of lives and property, is taking a very strict and firm stance against crime.

Referring to the resignation of an MP accused in connection with the attack on the Radda health service centre in Mirpur, he said legal measures are also being taken alongside party and administrative action.

The measures taken so far include the dissolution of BNP and its affiliated organisations’ committees, and the expulsion and arrest of the accused leaders and activists, as well as the withdrawal of the officer-in-charge of the police station, he said.

He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has taken a firm stance against crime. Action is being taken against crimes without considering the political identity or influence of the perpetrators.

At the same time, he stressed the importance of involving the younger generation in sports to build a drug-free, disciplined and healthy society.

Syed Emran Saleh Prince said that, under the directives of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, initiatives have been taken to establish eight-bigha sports grounds in every union and mini-stadiums at the upazila level. There is also an initiative to provide free sports equipment to sports and educational institutions. An initiative is also being taken to establish a sports education institution in Dhobaura.

He further said that the government, at the initiative of the prime minister, has taken steps to provide free laptops to meritorious students and bicycles to meritorious female students to encourage academic excellence. At the same time, initiatives are being taken to make sports a compulsory part of the curriculum from next year. The aim is to enable students to embrace sports from an early age not only as entertainment but also as a promising career in the future.

He said sports is a prestigious profession and a major economic sector in the modern world. Opportunities must be created so that students from Bangladesh can also establish themselves as athletes on the international stage.

He said a sports ground is not merely a place for playing sports; it is an effective means of keeping young people away from drugs, terrorism and crime. Therefore, everyone, regardless of political affiliation, should play a role in maintaining peace and discipline and in engaging young people in healthy and constructive activities.

Syed Emran Saleh Prince called upon members of law enforcement agencies to perform their duties with the highest level of professionalism, dedication, impartiality and responsibility.

Haluaghat upazila BNP convener Aslam Mia Babul, joint convener Mizanur Rahman, district Jubo Dal vice-president Tarikul Islam Chanchal, Jubo Dal leader Asaduzzaman Asif, upazila Krishak Dal president Anwar Hossain, Chhatra Dal convener Naimur Arifin Papon, and BNP leaders Altaf Hossain, Motaleb Hossain and Motaleb Ahmed, among others, were present at the event.