Can you clean canals wearing suits? Fakhrul slams show-off-prone BNP leaders
In a fiery address that combined environmental action with a sharp political message, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has lashed out at party leaders and activists for turning up to a canal cleaning campaign in formal attire, asking pointedly: “Can canals be cleaned while wearing suits?”
Speaking at a canal dredging and cleanliness programme in Sector 12 of Uttara, organised by the Dhaka Metropolitan North unit of the BNP on Tuesday afternoon, Fakhrul urged party members to shed their formal wear and embrace simplicity.
“Leaders and activists should not come wearing suits and coats. Who wears that to clean a canal?” he questioned. “You should wear pajamas and shorts. Roll up your sleeves and join the people in real work.”
The cleanliness drive was initiated as an alternative to the party’s planned rally in the capital, which Fakhrul said would have caused major public inconvenience. “Today was supposed to be a rally. But rallies block roads, halt traffic, and disrupt the lives of ordinary people,” he explained. “Our senior leader, Tarique Rahman, suggested we pick two canals in Dhaka and clean them instead. So here we are doing something useful for the city.”
Fakhrul framed the initiative not just as civic duty, but as a test of commitment to the party and its grassroots values.
“This isn’t about performing for five minutes in front of cameras and then leaving,” he said. “We want to see the canal stay clean. We want to know that your workers actually dug the mud, removed the waste, and made a difference. That’s how we’ll know how much you truly care for your party.”
He expressed visible frustration at the appearance of some female leaders who arrived “fresh from the beauty parlor, fully dressed in formal attire,” calling it inappropriate for a hands-on campaign.
“This is not a fashion show,” Fakhrul emphasized. “We have to walk through neighborhoods, go door to door, and talk to the people about Ziaur Rahman, Begum Khaleda Zia, and Tarique Rahman. We have to reconnect with the masses. You can’t do that in a suit.”
The event marked a symbolic shift in BNP’s public engagement strategy, from disruptive street protests to community-based initiatives aimed at rebuilding public trust. By choosing canal cleaning over a rally, the party appears to be attempting to rebrand itself as a force for constructive change, especially amid widespread public frustration over urban decay, waterlogging, and poor drainage in Dhaka.
Fakhrul stressed that such programs reflect the true spirit of political activism, one rooted in service, not spectacle.
“We don’t need to stop the city to prove our strength,” he said. “We prove it by working with the people, not disturbing them.”
The event was attended by several senior BNP figures, including Rafiqul Alam Majnu, Convener of Dhaka Metropolitan South BNP; Tanvir Ahmed Robin, Member Secretary; Advocate Abdus Salam Azad, Joint Secretary General; Executive Committee members Habibur Rashid Habib, Zakir Hossain Rokon, Liton Mahmud, Abdus Sattar, Farhad Hossain, and others.