Red card for extortionists Jamaat Ameer

Staff Reporter :

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman has declared that there is “no more room for fascist rule” in the country, warning that the public has prepared a “red card” for those who thrive on extortion, as he intensified his election campaign across South Dhaka ahead of the 13th national parliamentary polls.

Addressing a large rally at Dhupkhola Field in Gendaria on Saturday, following an earlier programme in Jatrabari, the Jamaat chief presented what he described as a vision for a “new and discrimination-free Bangladesh,” urging voters to back candidates of the 11-party electoral alliance contesting seats under the Dhaka South City Corporation.

Thousands of supporters gathered at the Dhupkhola rally, where Shafiqur campaigned for alliance nominees including Syed Zainul Abedin in Dhaka-4 and Mohammad Kamal Hossain in Dhaka-5.

From the stage, he issued a stern warning against local crime networks, singling out extortion as a practice he said had become normalised in many neighbourhoods.

“For those who have chosen extortion as a new profession, the message is clear — a complete red card,” he told the crowd. “Extortion is worse than begging.”

He announced plans to launch two mobile applications if his alliance comes to power — one to identify alleged extortionists and another that would allow citizens to directly report local problems to their elected representatives.

The proposals were framed as part of a broader promise to dismantle what he called a culture of fear and impunity at the grassroots level.

Outlining his party’s social welfare agenda, Shafiqur placed particular emphasis on women’s safety and dignity.

He pledged special bus services for working women and said the entire lower deck of state-run double-decker buses would be reserved for female passengers to ensure safer daily commutes.

Turning to youth policy, the Jamaat leader rejected the idea of long-term unemployment allowances, arguing instead for skills-based programmes aimed at overseas job markets. “We do not want to keep our youth at home with doles.

We want to transform them into skilled workers,” he said. “By making them proficient in English and Arabic alongside Bangla, we will make them fit for the international markets.”

Shafiqur also paid tribute to those killed during the July Uprising, saying Dhaka South still bears witness to the bloodshed linked to the struggle for freedom.

Framing the upcoming vote in stark terms, he described the election as a choice between sovereignty and subjugation.

“A ‘Yes’ vote on the 12th means Azadi (freedom), while a ‘No’ means Gulami (slavery),” he said, referring to the simultaneous referendum on the July National Charter scheduled for the same day as polling.

In a blunt proposal aimed at local governance, Shafiqur addressed chronic waterlogging and pollution in South Dhaka, promising strict personal accountability for elected representatives.

If his alliance forms the next government, he said, councillors, mayors and members of parliament would be held directly responsible for drainage failures and river pollution in their respective areas.

“If the representatives fail to clean the rivers, they will be made to bathe in that same polluted water four times a year,” he said.

“When they have to submerge themselves in the stench every three months, they will be forced to keep the water pearly clear. We want representatives who act as people’s watchmen, not masters.”

The Jamaat ameer’s campaign is set to continue across South Dhaka, with the next major rally scheduled for Sunday at the Dhaka Alia Madrasah field, focusing on the Dhaka-7 constituency, as parties intensify outreach in the final phase before formal polling.