Opposition Chief Whip and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam on Thursday questioned the government's claims of improving law and order following an arson attack on the home of an NCP lawmaker in Kushtia.
"Can we still say that law and order has not deteriorated even after a lawmaker's house was set on fire?" he asked while raising a point of order during the fourth sitting of the fourth session of the Jatiya Sangsad.
Accusing what he described as the ousted fascist forces of orchestrating widespread violence and sabotage, Nahid said the targets of the recent attacks were clear.
He cited the attack on Hasib Al Islam, a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, in Moulvibazar two days ago, saying more than 48 hours had passed without any arrests.
"Petrol bomb attacks and cocktail explosions are occurring repeatedly across the country. Even inside Dhaka University, cocktails are exploding. The Home Minister says that every cocktail explosion at Dhaka University cannot be considered a deterioration in law and order," he said.
Nahid said the home of NCP lawmaker Nusrat Tabassum, elected to a reserved women's seat with the nomination of the 11-party alliance, was set on fire in Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia at around midnight on Wednesday.
"Four petrol bombs were hurled at the house, setting it on fire. There were livestock inside the house, and some of them were killed in the attack," he said.
He also questioned the police's preliminary assessment, saying the officer-in-charge of the local police station had ruled out the use of petrol bombs without any forensic investigation.
"I personally spoke to the superintendent of police, but no forensic team had even visited the scene. Without any forensic investigation, how can the officer-in-charge say that no petrol bombs were used?" he asked.
Warning the government over the growing security concerns, Nahid said lawmakers and leaders and activists who had spearheaded the July mass uprising and the anti-fascist movement were increasingly worried about their safety.
"Yesterday, the Home Minister presented figures in parliament claiming that the law and order situation had improved. But lawmakers, leaders of the July mass uprising and activists of the anti-fascist movement are now facing growing threats to their lives. Will this government provide us with security? If it cannot, let it tell us so," he said.
He further warned that they would have to consider their own course of action if the government failed to protect their rights.
"If we do not have human rights, and this government is more concerned about the human rights of our enemies, then we will have to find our own way," he said.
"If we are the first targets, they will be the second. If our families are attacked, their families could also be targeted by the fascist forces. They are that brutal," he added.
Nahid also demanded a clear explanation from the government over what he described as its compromising stance on ensuring accountability for the Awami League and what he called fascist forces.
Responding to his remarks, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed described the attack as a serious matter and urged the government to take necessary action.
"The issue raised by the Opposition Chief Whip is extremely important. An attack on the home of a member of parliament is a serious incident. I would ask the treasury bench and the Home Minister to take necessary measures in this regard. This is an extremely serious matter, and I firmly believe our Home Minister will take remedial action," he said.
Earlier in the sitting, Nahid threatened to walk out if he was not allowed to speak on a point of order, prompting Speaker Hafiz to ask whether waiting half an hour would bring "doomsday".
Nahid sought permission to speak at the beginning of the sitting, but the Speaker asked him to wait until the question-answer session ended, saying the Home Minister, who was expected to respond, was also not present.
Explaining why he wanted to speak immediately, Nahid said the matter was extremely urgent. However, the Speaker insisted that parliamentary procedure be followed.
"Chief Whip, this is certainly important. We will discuss it. Let the question-answer session finish, then you may stand," the Speaker said.
Nahid replied, "No, Mr Speaker, what will I do with the question-answer session?"
The Speaker then asked, "Will doomsday come in this half hour? What is the problem with waiting half an hour? We are following a procedure. The Home Minister, who will respond, is also not here."
Nahid said he did not expect any response from the government and only wanted to put the opposition's concerns on record.
"We know what the Home Minister will say, Speaker. We only want to put our words on record. We do not expect any answer," he said.
"We expect no response from this government. We at least want to say what we have to say. If you let us speak, we will stay; otherwise we will not," he added.