Parliament erupted into heated exchanges on Wednesday over alleged Awami League sabotage, cross-border provocations and garment workers' unrest, as Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed accused fugitive leaders of plotting to destabilise Bangladesh and the opposition challenged insinuations of links to foreign intelligence agencies.
Salahuddin alleged that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was directing her supporters from India to target participants in the July uprising. He also claimed to have evidence that fugitive Awami League ministers and lawmakers were financing unrest in the garment industry.
Opposition Leader and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman rejected suggestions that his party had any dealings with foreign intelligence agencies, accusing those making such allegations of having held similar meetings themselves.
The exchanges drew interruptions from lawmakers, with the home minister declining to identify a parliamentary party whose labour wing he accused of fuelling protests.
Yet the two sides found common ground on one issue: the need for national unity against attempts to destabilise Bangladesh.
Speaking under Rule 300, Salahuddin began by endorsing Shafiqur's earlier remarks about alleged provocations from across the border.
"I agree, and I have said the same thing in my own words on several occasions at different places," Salahuddin said.
"The people want to know whether these provocations have any connection with secret meetings held in Dhaka at different times between top leaders of a political party and representatives of various foreign organisations."
He did not identify the party or the foreign organisations.
Responding later, Shafiqur demanded clarification.
"We are a political party. We will meet our political opponents and friends. The question of meeting with any intelligence agency simply does not arise," he said.
He alleged that those accusing Jamaat of such dealings had themselves met intelligence officials at home and abroad.
"They have travelled to the countries where those agencies are based, met their representatives and expressed regret. They have publicly admitted that their party's past policies were wrong and promised not to repeat those mistakes."
Salahuddin accused Hasina of issuing instructions to Awami League activists through audio and video calls from across the border.
He alleged that she had ordered supporters to prepare lists of July uprising participants and demolish their homes.
He also claimed that Hasina had threatened to teach the July protesters a severe lesson if she returned to Bangladesh.
The home minister then drew a comparison between the Awami League's flight from power in August 2024 and the collapse of Nazi Germany.
"The way an entire political party fled the country has only one parallel in world history: Hitler's Nazi forces fleeing Germany," he said.
"Just as the Nazis could never return to Germany or resume their politics, the fascist Awami League forces that fled during the mass uprising will never be able to return to Bangladesh."
Salahuddin also criticised Shafiqur's earlier decision to forgive those responsible for political persecution.
He recalled that the Jamaat leader had announced at an event in Dhaka on September 3, 2024, that his party had forgiven those who had persecuted its members.
"The Awami League carried out repression and persecution in Bangladesh throughout its fifteen-and-a-half-year rule," Salahuddin said.
"The way he unilaterally forgave them, without any conditions and without any expression of remorse, regret or apology on their part, is neither reasonable nor acceptable in the eyes of the people. We also consider it unacceptable."
Shafiqur disputed the minister's account.
"I have been misquoted," he said.
Referring to an August 12 press conference, he said he had never mentioned the Awami League during his 22-minute speech.
"During that entire 22-minute speech, I did not mention the Awami League even once, not even in my dreams," Shafiqur said.
"The video is still available. Anyone can watch it."
The two leaders referred to different dates in their accounts of the forgiveness remarks.
Salahuddin also described arson as an old political practice closely associated with the Awami League.
He insisted that the government would not turn law enforcement agencies into instruments of political repression.
"We have never wanted to turn law enforcement agencies into forces of repression in our pursuit of a safe Bangladesh, and we never will," he said.
"However, if necessary, I repeat, if necessary, the government will take strict measures in accordance with the law, depending on the situation."
Salahuddin said Bangladesh had recorded 55 incidents of mob violence between February and October 2025, compared with 16 during the same period this year.
The number had fallen by 39, he said.
The government would take decisive measures to prevent further incidents and ensure that mob violence was not tolerated.
The home minister also announced that investigation teams from the International Crimes Tribunal would begin conducting investigations across the country's districts.
The investigations would cover extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, murders, abductions, fabricated criminal cases and crimes against humanity, including deaths and injuries during the July uprising.
He said the initiative was part of the government's commitment to ensuring accountability for abuses committed under the previous administration.
Salahuddin claimed that law enforcement personnel had faced attacks from protesters in several areas but had refrained from actions that could violate human rights.
He accused the ousted political forces of attempting to exploit the government's restraint.
The home minister devoted a substantial part of his speech to the recent unrest in the ready-made garment industry.
He acknowledged that workers were struggling with rising living costs, driven partly by wars and higher global prices for fuel, oil and other essential commodities.
But he alleged that the ousted Awami League and its domestic allies were exploiting these hardships to provoke industrial unrest.
"The ousted forces and their domestic collaborators have exploited these hardships to incite workers and make them agitated," Salahuddin said.
The government had taken measures to prevent sabotage while addressing workers' demands, he said.
Law enforcement agencies had maintained a firm position against destructive activities on the streets while acting within the law and respecting human rights.
At the same time, the government had moved to address wage grievances.
"Even before the scheduled deadline, we held several meetings with workers, employers and different organisations and formed a wage board," he said.
"The wage board has already held several meetings. A minimum wage will be announced based on the views of all stakeholders."
He claimed that workers and factory owners had welcomed the initiative and returned to work.
However, Salahuddin alleged that certain groups were continuing to exploit the wage dispute to create instability.
He claimed that large sums of money were being channelled from across the border through labour organisations and clandestine groups to fuel demonstrations.
According to the minister, these groups were using the formation of the wage board and the determination of minimum wages as pretexts for continued agitation.
"We have clear evidence that fugitive ministers, lawmakers and leaders of the ousted illegal government are involved," he said.
He did not disclose the alleged financial transactions or identify the individuals accused of providing the money.
Salahuddin cited media reports in which ordinary workers and labour leaders had allegedly said that those instigating violence were not genuine garment workers.
He described them as saboteurs operating under the guise of labour activism and linked them to remnants of the previous government and clandestine political groups.
Salahuddin also accused the labour wing of a political party represented in Parliament of leading demonstrations in different areas.
He alleged that its leaders had instructed supporters to continue the protests at any cost.
Videos of such instructions had circulated on social media, he said.
His remarks prompted interruptions and protests from several lawmakers.
"I could mention names, but perhaps many of you here would not be pleased," Salahuddin said amid the commotion.
"I want to follow parliamentary conventions. If you have something to say, please take the floor after I finish my statement."
He reminded lawmakers that the Speaker was responsible for conducting parliamentary proceedings and that members should speak through the chair.
Other lawmakers would have an opportunity to respond after he finished, he said.
The minister added that the government possessed documents relating to the alleged activities but was deliberately refraining from naming any political party in the interest of maintaining harmony.
In his response, Shafiqur challenged the government's record on drug trafficking, citing allegations made by lawmakers from the ruling party itself.
"We want drugs to be eradicated. But drug control has been discussed in this Parliament. The question is: who will control drugs? How can those who themselves eat the paddy be trusted to guard it?" he asked, invoking a Bengali proverb about those entrusted with protection being responsible for wrongdoing.
He cited a senior lawmaker's allegation that drug syndicates previously controlled by supporters of the ousted government were now being run by leaders of the ruling party.
"A senior member of this Parliament has said that previously the fascists controlled the drug syndicates, but now some leaders of their own party control the drug trade," Shafiqur said.
He argued that the government should focus on stopping drugs from entering Bangladesh before attempting to control their distribution within the country.
"Another senior member of this Parliament has said that the largest drug consignments pass right beside the honourable home minister's house," he said.
Shafiqur said the opposition would have been accused of political point-scoring had it made these allegations itself.
"If we, as the opposition, said these things, we would be accused of opposing for the sake of opposition," he said.
"That is why, instead of making these allegations ourselves, I am simply presenting statements made by members of the ruling party."
He did not identify the lawmakers whose statements he cited.
The home minister also addressed reports that Awami League leader Ranjit Sarkar had entered Bangladesh from India, attended a political meeting and subsequently returned across the border.
"Reports have appeared in the media that a member of the ousted fascist group entered the country from India, held a meeting and then fled back to India. His name has been identified as Ranjit Sarkar," Salahuddin said.
The government was investigating how he allegedly crossed the border.
"We are working in coordination with the Border Guard Bangladesh to determine which route he used to enter the country. A case has been filed in connection with the incident."
The minister said the case named 20 individuals and another 175 unidentified suspects.
Most of the accused were residents of Sunamganj, prompting authorities in Sunamganj and Sylhet to coordinate efforts to arrest them.
Seven people who allegedly attended the meeting had already been arrested.
Joint operations were underway to apprehend the remaining suspects, he said.
The minister did not specify the date of Ranjit's alleged entry, the location of the meeting or the route he was believed to have used.
Despite the confrontations, the opposition responded positively to the home minister's call for national unity.
Salahuddin had urged political parties, both inside and outside Parliament, to cooperate in confronting attempts to destabilise Bangladesh.
He alleged that groups operating from across the border were exploiting opportunities to create unrest through political programmes, sometimes describing them as strikes.
Shafiqur welcomed the call.
"The home minister has said that we should carry forward the national unity forged against fascism in 2024 and work together to build the Bangladesh of tomorrow," he said.
"I thank him for expressing that sentiment."
But he cautioned that the country should not be subjected to another period of suffering under authoritarian forces.
"This nation must not be thrown back into the suffering inflicted by fascists," he said.
"To what extent they are being encouraged, and whose weaknesses are allowing that to happen, should be left for the people to judge."
He also called for concrete action on issues raised in Parliament rather than repeated assurances.
"We want to see effective measures taken on the issues raised in Parliament in the future."
Turning to law and order, Shafiqur said he had spent much of his 52-year political career hearing successive governments claim that the situation was improving.
"Throughout my 52 years of political life, whenever questions have been raised about law and order, I have heard the same thing: the situation is improving compared with before," he said.
"Yet despite all this supposed improvement, we have not become America, nor have we become England. We have remained Bangladesh."
He ended with a declaration of national sovereignty.
"We want to remain Bangladesh. We do not want to become another country, nor do we want to accept subordination to any other country."
"We will not tolerate anyone's hegemony. But let Bangladesh be a Bangladesh that truly reflects Bangladesh."
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