People’s assumption as well as expectation, that post-election violence would be less this year amid BNP and its allies’ boycotting election, is proving false to a great extent with news of violence coming from different parts of the country. Four people’s death and vandalising hundreds of houses in post-polls violence across the country are still haunting the nation’s psyche. Under such a situation, an incident in Rupganj of Narayanganj has pointed fingers at the local MP and his cohorts about his commitment towards the common people of the constituency.
According to media reports, miscreants have gone on the rampage to foil a warm clothes distribution programme of Daudpur Union Parishad Chairman Nurul Islam Jahangir, who supported Shahjahan Bhuiyan, an independent candidate in Narayanganj-1 constituency (Rupganj) in the 7 January election. The reports further say, led by Mizanur Rahman, brother of controversial businessman Rafiqul Islam, chairman of Rongdhanu Group and a supporter of Golam Dastagir Gazi MP, confronted UP Chairman inside the complex, went berserk, carried out vandalism inside and assaulted Jahangir and his follower, leaving at least 20 of them injured.
It is beyond our intellect how a public representative can foil a pro-people programme like distributing warm clothes when thousands of people are shivering with bone-chilling cold. As an influential MP and reputed businessman, Golam Dastagir should have a moral obligation to stand by the poor during this situation, but he has not felt that urge. Moreover, when another public representative made such an effort, Gazi and Rafiq’s gong toiled intensively to foil it, for Jahangir did not support him in the election.
Such an incident conveys what this businessman-turned politician feels about the people and that serving personal interest is the only cause of his doing politics. This is not new actually; we earlier see how tough time these leaders gave the people by grabbing their lands and establishing a reign of terror in Rupganj, the area which in recent years hit headlines for criminal activities and drug dealing.
So, law enforcement agencies must give special focus on this locality so that law and order do not deteriorate further and people can lead a peaceful life there. However, as long as a leader like the current lawmaker is there, we can only imagine what awaits next!