‘Mobocracy’ became rampant due to government weakness: Salahuddin Ahmed

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed has said that the attacks and arson on the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star have damaged Bangladesh’s image worldwide, blaming government weakness for allowing what he termed “mobocracy” to become rampant. He said such tendencies must be suppressed firmly.

He made the remarks on Sunday afternoon at a discussion meeting with senior media figures, organised to mark BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s “historic homecoming day,” at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the capital.

Salahuddin Ahmed said the government bore the greatest responsibility in preventing the incident. “Such developments are reflected in intelligence assessment reports—we too came to know about those reports. The question is, why were they not taken into account?” he asked.

He also questioned the role of law enforcement agencies, saying, “We have heard that they responded one or two hours later. Why was there such a delay?”

Referring to the arson attack, he said, “The way Prothom Alo and The Daily Star were set on fire—burned down to the ground—those scenes were broadcast across the world. This is a matter of shame for us. As a nation, we cannot simply close the matter by expressing regret.”

Describing the media as the mirror of society, Salahuddin Ahmed said, “Newspapers are the mirror of society. At this moment, that mirror has been shattered. But the journalists’ conscience must not be broken.”

He added, “We wanted democracy. Why should it turn into mobocracy? Why should such a system be nurtured?”

Salahuddin Ahmed also spoke about BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s return to the country on 25 December, saying, “We want to use his return to strengthen democracy. We have no intention of strengthening any individual.”

He said the BNP would not encourage either personal or party-based authoritarianism.

Editors, senior journalists, media professionals and senior BNP leaders were present at the event.