Northern Bangladesh will become agro-industrial hub if Jamaat-led 10-party alliance wins polls: Shafiqur

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman today (23 January) said northern Bangladesh will be transformed into an "agriculture-based industrial capital" if the 10-party alliance, led by his party, wins the upcoming national election, scheduled for 12 February.

The north has been deliberately neglected since the creation of Bangladesh, despite its crucial role in supplying food and nutrition to the country, Shafiqur said while addressing an election rally in Panchagarh, marking the formal launch of his party's election campaign in the northern region.

"This region has always been treated like a stepchild. We want to end this discrimination and bring North Bengal out of neglect," he said.

To address economic hardship in the region, the Jamaat ameer announced that all closed sugar mills in North Bengal will be reopened to create employment opportunities if his party wins.

"We do not want to see a single unemployed person in North Bengal. Closed sugar mills will be reopened, workers will be reinstated, and young men and women will be trained as builders of the nation," he said.

Shafiqur also said, "If we come to power, we will repay the debt owed to the heroes of '71 and the July fighters."

Criticising previous governments, he said Tk28 lakh crore allegedly siphoned off abroad will be recovered from foreign banks if the alliance comes to power, adding that looting and corruption will no longer be tolerated.

"Those who stole our Tk28 lakh crore and smuggled it abroad -- we will, God willing, extract it by reaching into their bellies. And in the future, no one will be allowed to steal again," he said.

Shafiqur stated that no district in Bangladesh will remain without a medical college under the 10-party alliance if it forms government. 

As part of that plan, a modern medical college will be established in Panchagarh, he promised.