Home
+
Published : 30 Mar 2026, 07:35 PM
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said Bangladesh will no longer tolerate any form of “mob culture”, vowing action against attempts to realise demands through street violence.
Speaking during the question-answer session in parliament on Sunday, he said the trend of blocking roads and highways seen during the interim government will not be allowed to continue.
“Democratic avenues to present demands will remain open, but the tendency to realise demands through mobs will be stopped,” he said.
The remarks came in response to a supplementary question from Rumeen Farhana, an independent MP representing Brahmanbaria-2.
Before posing her question, Rumeen drew the speaker’s attention to restrictions on supplementary queries, warning that “brute majority is always dangerous” and could weaken accountability in parliament.
She said Bangladesh had long suffered from enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, custodial torture and political violence, and claimed that a “mob culture” had emerged during the interim government.
According to her, more than 250 to 300 people were killed in mob incidents between September 2024 and January 2026.
She also said she herself had been a victim of such an incident on Feb 21 and asked what steps the government would take to curb the trend.
In response, the home minister said he did not have the specific figures but acknowledged the issue.
“This is a different debate and could be discussed separately,” he said, noting that the government has been in office for less than one and a half months.
He said while some incidents had occurred, not all could be categorised as mob violence.
“We need to define what constitutes a mob and what does not,” he said.
Citing examples, he said an attack on a police station in Gaibandha’s Palashbari, an assault on an MP on Feb 21, and vandalism at a business centre in Uttara should not all be labelled as “mob” incidents.
Some of these, he said, were “organised crimes” that are dealt with through cases, investigations, arrests and judicial proceedings.
However, he reiterated the government’s position: “After assuming office, no form of mob culture will remain in Bangladesh.”
He said citizens would continue to have the right to association and freedom of speech, including the ability to submit memorandums, hold seminars and organise rallies.
“But we must move away from the tendency to realise demands through mobs,” he added.
Referring to road blockades during the interim government, he said such actions were, in some cases, encouraged by administrative weakness and would no longer be allowed.
The minister also said he intends to make a detailed statement in parliament under Rule 300 on the issue at a later date.
