¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·

Speakers at a pre-election regional consultation in Rajshahi on Saturday said that they continued to face serious security vulnerabilities even under the incumbent interim government.

Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh organised the consultation at the BRAC Learning Centre at Baya under Paba upazila, with more than a hundred academicians, researchers, political and social activists, rights workers, development professionals, journalists and youths attending.

Asad Ali, a retired schoolteacher, said that they had been living in a situation marked by frequent mob violence.

‘Whenever you say or post something online, and if it goes against anyone, there is a high possibility that you will come under mob attack,’ he said.

Mostafa Bijli, founding president of Bachar Asha Sangskritik Sangathan, said that a group had been harassing them because they performed at cultural events organised during the previous regime.

‘We are artistes – we perform for money. But now a vested group is targeting us, accusing us of being accomplices of the fascist government,’ he alleged.

Pair Box, president of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik’s Rajshahi city unit, said that local businesses were worried due to a sharp rise in insecurity.

‘Extortion has become so rampant that many businessmen cannot continue their work properly,’ he said.

Sultana Ahmed Sagarika of Diner Alo Hijra Sangha said that the interim government had taken no visible measures for the development of third-gender communities.

‘Even our Ashrayan Project houses have been vandalised and looted, and the land grabbed in broad daylight,’ she said, adding that police and the local administration did not act despite repeated complaints.

Amin Ahmed, a university student, said that due to weak law-enforcement operations and rising criminal activity, villagers in his area were guarding their neighbourhoods at night as incidents of robbery had increased.

Ethnic minority leader Raj Kumar Shao said that their communities had been disproportionately affected by evictions during the interim government’s tenure.

‘Ethnic families in several areas, including the Kole community in Godagari, have been evicted unlawfully while police and the administration remained inactive,’ he said, adding that law enforcers often stayed silent when influential people were involved.

Speakers also raised concerns over the worsening groundwater crisis in the Barind region, lack of agro-based industries, absence of gas connections, food insecurity, and weaknesses in healthcare, education, governance and social protection.

They also highlighted issues relating to controlling election expenditure, regulating the use and potential abuse of social media, and ensuring that political parties nominate competent candidates.

Citizen’s Platform convener Debapriya Bhattacharya said that participants overwhelmingly identified security as the most pressing issue ahead of the national elections.

‘This is not only about economic or financial security. People spoke equally about social, cultural and business security,’ he said.

He said participants linked the question of security to broader issues of good governance, judicial independence, administrative competence and the political intent of the government.

‘Many felt that without strengthening security, holding a fair election would be extremely difficult,’ he added, noting that most viewed post-election security as less critical.

He said that one message emerged clearly from the meeting that citizens wanted a reversal of the old political culture.

‘Previously, leaders spoke and the public only listened. People now want that dynamic to change,’ he said.

Participants, he added, expressed a desire for elections that bring genuinely representative leaders to power and stressed that unless campaign spending is reduced, curbing corruption would remain extremely difficult.

They also called for annual accountability, arguing that each elected representative should be required to present a yearly report on their responsibilities, he further added.