Cox’s Bazar: After a long 20 years, Cox’s Bazar’s proud son and four-time elected MP Salah Uddin Ahmed has taken over as the Home Minister.

On Tuesday (February 17) afternoon, after taking oath before His Excellency the President at Bangabhaban, joy and excitement spread across Cox’s Bazar district.

Starting from the district headquarters, joyous processions were taken out in Chakaria, Pekua, Ramu, Maheshkhali, Ukhia and Teknaf.

As soon as the news of the oath spread, party leaders and activists and common people gathered on the main roads of the district town.

They took out joyous processions with banners and festoons in their hands and organized short rallies at various places.

Sweets were distributed and floral greetings were exchanged at many places. Motorcycle processions and joyous processions continued in various upazilas till evening.

In the recently held 13th National Parliament election on February 12, Salah Uddin Ahmed was elected as a member of parliament for the fourth time from Cox’s Bazar-1 constituency by a huge margin.

He had previously won consecutively in the sixth, seventh and eighth National Parliament elections and served as the State Minister for Communications in the BNP-led coalition government in 2001.

Local leaders said that Salah Uddin Ahmed had achieved the distinction of becoming the first full-time minister from Cox’s Bazar after independence.

The district’s residents have increased their expectations after being included in the cabinet again after two long decades.

They believe that the new Home Minister will play an effective role in maintaining law and order, preventing drug and human trafficking, and strengthening overall security in Cox’s Bazar, a border district.

Various social and professional organizations in the district also congratulated him in separate statements. A flood of wishes is also pouring in on social media. Many have commented, “This is a proud day for the people of Cox’s Bazar.”

In a brief response after assuming his new duties, Salah Uddin Ahmed said that improving the law and order situation in the country, establishing good governance and ensuring the security of the people will be his main priorities.

Joyous processions and rallies were seen going on in different areas of Cox’s Bazar till night. He feels that new vitality has returned to the political arena of the district.