Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman on Wednesday told parliament that 142,983 cases were filed against BNP leaders and activists from 2007 to January 11, 2025.
He made the remarks in response to a question from Brahmanbaria-5 MP Md Abdul Mannan on the 6th day of the first session of the 13th National Parliament.
Asaduzzaman said the government does not keep official statistics on harassment or false cases filed against leaders and activists of any political party. He added that the government does not have specific information on the total number of cases filed against BNP leaders and activists alone.
Referring to information received from the BNP central office, he said: “From 2007 to January 11, 2025, 142,983 false and harassing cases were filed against BNP leaders and activists.”
The minister said the current government has reorganized 4-member district committees to recommend the withdrawal of politically motivated harassment cases until March 5, 2026.
He said the committees examine application papers for withdrawal, the case statement and, where applicable, certified copies of the charge sheet and the public prosecutor’s opinion to determine whether a case was filed for political harassment.
“If the committee finds that there is no need to continue the case in the public interest and that continuing it would harm the state, it will recommend withdrawal to the government,” he said.
Asaduzzaman said another 6-member committee was formed on March 8, 2026, to review the recommendations sent by the district committees and take action on the withdrawal of cases.
He added that 23,865 politically motivated cases have been withdrawn so far, and work is underway to withdraw the remaining cases.