This law is giving the army the right to search and detain anyone, as well as the right to enter any premises. And this law is being made at a time when less than three months are left for the elections. We know to some extent that the government was already more or less prepared for such a law.
A report published in May 2022 said that work had been done to strengthen the battalion Ansar and it was also said that separate armaments for this force were being established in 40 districts. If modernization of the force is the objective behind such measures, the question is why couldn’t the government wait to do so after the elections? What is the reason for hastily introducing this bill in the last session of the 11th Parliament?
We know about the presence of this force at polling stations during elections. While raising the bill, Law Minister Anisul Haq mentioned that his force had extended its cooperation during the 2014 and 2018 elections. But by providing this force with powers to detain, search, seize and take such action, a message is being given not only to the workers of the opposition parties but also to the common people.
Given what is going on in the law and courts, there is no scope to look at this legal process separately to enhance the powers of the Ansar battalion members. In the last decade, fake cases have emerged against opposition leaders and workers and they are being arrested. But these actions now seem to be gaining new momentum. Cases that are more than a decade old have been revived and are being heard in a hurry. Testing is going on even at night. (Daily Star). The police have been ‘directed’ to provide ‘appropriate’ testimony to expedite the case processes. (Bangla Tribune).