Jamaat-Shibir to face tough action if violence continues

Minister without portfolio Suranjit Sengupta yesterday said the government would take stern action against Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir if they continued creating anarchy.
"The government will not tolerate such mayhem and continued attacks on policemen as they have crossed the limits," he told a discussion on "Present context of politics and banning of Jamaat-Shibir" at the capital's Jatiya Press Club, organised by Bangabandhu Academy.
Suranjit also criticised BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for her claim that her son Tarique Zia led an honest life.
"Claiming Tarique honest, you have cut a great joke before the nation, as an FBI agent testified in the money-laundering case against your son," he said.
Suranjit, also chief of the parliamentary standing committee on the law ministry, asked Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) to withdraw its survey on lawmakers and replace it with a more objective one.
"An MP may do some wrong. For that people could punish him by rejecting him in polls or charges could be pressed against him," he said.
Released in October, the TIB report said 97 percent of the 149 sitting MPs surveyed were involved in "negative activities”, including being linked to or being supportive of criminal activities, misusing public funds and influencing government decisions.