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Published : 22 May 2026, 03:26 PM
Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Md Abdus Salam has warned Jamaat-e-Islami against attempts to bring down the BNP government through street protests, saying the ruling party would "not look on quietly” if its activists came under attack.
Speaking at an event in Dhaka’s Elephant Road on Friday, Salam said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had been in office for only three months and should be given time to deliver.
“The prime minister has been running the state for only three months. In this short time, he has tried to do many things,” Salam said.
“Now one group says they will oust the government through protests. Brother, what is the point of removing it? Just three months ago, people gave Tarique Rahman a landslide mandate and brought him to power, and now they claim the people are on their side.”
Addressing the opposition Jamaat directly, Salam said the party should wait and allow voters to judge the government.
“Give it two or three years. Let the people say what they think. Let us see how much [Tarique] can do. If he fails, the people will say so themselves,” he said.
“You are not the people. You are Jamaat. You are activists of certain student organisations. Listen to what the public says. People have already seen your character in 1971.”
Warning that BNP would respond to any movement, Salam said: “Do you think you will bring down the government through movements carried out by party activists, and BNP will simply sit idle at home?”
He was speaking at the inauguration of a programme by "Hridoye Elephant Road Society" to distribute jute bags and leaflets for managing waste from sacrificial animals.
Salam urged political parties not to push the country into fresh instability.
“Please do not take the country backwards again in the name of movements. Let us work together to run the country. Let us try to preserve democracy,” he said.
“The whole world is going through an economic downturn. Bangladesh is no exception. But if you create another round of chaos now, the country will sink even deeper.”
The DSCC administrator also criticised the previous interim government, claiming it had set Bangladesh back by 18 years.
“In 18 months, they completely ruined the country. I say Bangladesh has been pushed back by 18 years,” he said.
“Children are dying from measles. Whose responsibility is that? Theirs. They did not bring vaccines at that time, and now children are dying. Today Dhaka city is gridlocked with rickshaws. Hawkers have occupied the roads.”
Distribution of Bleaching Powder, Savlon, and Bags
Salam said the DSCC would distribute 46 tonnes of bleaching powder, 210 gallons, or 1,050 litres, of Savlon and 140,000 bags across its 75 wards to help manage waste from sacrificial animals.
The distribution began on Friday from Elephant Road.
He urged residents not to leave animal waste scattered on roads and to keep it in containers for collection.
“When you slaughter sacrificial animals on the road in front of your homes, and a child sees a living animal being killed, psychologically the child cannot really handle it,” Salam said.
“We want to gradually introduce a system where sacrificial slaughter across Dhaka can take place in designated areas.”
