No plan to ban Jamaat

Local Government and Rural Development Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday said the government had no plan to impose a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami.
He said the High Court had declared the party's registration illegal as it could not meet the criteria for registration with the Election Commission.
"Jamaat can legalise its registration if it is able to convince the court and the Election Commission by meeting the criteria," said Ashraf, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League.
Ashraf was talking to reporters after inaugurating a sales centre of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority's (Wasa) bottled water “Shanti” at its Mirpur plant in the capital.
He made the remarks following the growing demand for banning Jamaat for its anti-liberation role and recent violent activities in different parts of the country.
The LGRD minister reiterated his hope that all political parties would participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
About Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy joining politics, he said, “We need new blood in politics, be it from within the country or from abroad.”
He cited the example of Tulip Siddique, daughter of the prime minister's sister Sheikh Rehana, who would contest the upcoming British elections on the Labour Party ticket.
During the inauguration, the minister stressed the need for preserving water resources, saying, “Everybody needs to unite in order to create awareness about the importance of saving the rivers around Dhaka city.”
He regretted that the rivers around the city had become so toxic with industrial waste that treatment plants failed to purify their water.
High officials of Wasa, including Managing Director Taqsem A Khan, were also present at the event.