Failure to curb land grabbing, extortion a bad omen for ruling party: TIB

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern and anger over the looting and vandalism at the Radda MCH-FP Health Centre in Mirpur and the vandalism of a content creator’s office in the ECB Chattar area in the capital.

Describing the incidents not as isolated events but as a bad omen for the government and the ruling party, the organisation called for exemplary accountability for those involved and urged the party to launch a nationwide campaign to put its own house in order.

TIB made the call in a statement on Sunday.

In the statement, TIB said, “The looting, vandalism and forcible occupation of Radda MCH are an embarrassing example for the government and the ruling party.”

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said in the statement, “What kind of example is the ruling party setting by destroying, in the presence of police and before hundreds of people, a charitable organisation that has provided healthcare to poor and vulnerable mothers and children for half a century, allegedly under the patronage of a member of parliament’s reserved seat? Following the fall of an authoritarian kleptocracy through the bloody July uprising, what message are such activities by leaders and activists of the party that came to power through the people’s mandate in a historic election sending to the people? The memory of the arbitrary behaviour of the previous authoritarian government remains fresh in the minds of ordinary people. Against this backdrop, are BNP policymakers considering the consequences of the ongoing land grabbing and extortion by a significant section of the party’s leaders and activists?”

Iftekharuzzaman said widespread allegations of land grabbing, extortion and attempts to establish dominance had emerged against a section of the BNP after August 2024. He alleged that such activities were taking place in various sectors, including bus terminals, footpaths, markets, water bodies, sand quarries, bazaars, cable and internet businesses.

He said disputes and clashes were also taking place among party members over these activities, which he described as a bad omen for the government.

Referring to clashes between two local BNP factions over the occupation of a water body in Kishoreganj and the vandalism of a creative studio, TIB’s executive director said these were not isolated incidents but part of a continuing pattern of events since August 2024.

Iftekharuzzaman said land grabbing and extortion could spiral out of control unless the government took effective corrective measures immediately.

The TIB executive director said that although some measures, including expulsion from the party, had been taken, law enforcement agencies were unable to take effective action because of a lack of strong resistance and the direct or indirect links between the accused and the ruling party.

This, he said, had raised concerns that a culture of arbitrariness, corruption and impunity could return. TIB called for proper investigations into each incident and exemplary punishment for those found responsible.