Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman today called upon the party men to
stay with the people and achieve their trust and love through their respective
works.
"The country will go on an election roadmap following the path of reform
activities. So, let us achieve the people's trust and love. Stay with the
people and keep them with us," he said.
Tarique made the call while virtually addressing a public rally as the chief
guest in front of BNP's Nayapaltan central office in the capital marking the International
Day of Democracy.
Party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir chaired the rally.
The BNP acting chairman reiterated that changeover of power doesn't mean only
handover of state power; rather it means qualitative change in the state and
the country's politics.
"Every political leader and activist should keep in mind that qualitative
change of a political party's leaders and activists is needed for qualitative
change of politics," he said.
Tarique Rahman urged the party men to prepare themselves to lead a
knowledge-based state and society without being confused in any provocation or
persuasion.
Tens of thousands of leaders and workers joined the massive gathering. BNP
shifted the date of the rally today from Sunday last due to inclement
weather.
Recalling
the sacrifice of the martyrs to free the country from autocratic rule, the BNP
acting chairman said a huge number of people spontaneously joined the rally on
the street.
The pro-Bangladeshi force may have to make more sacrifices to build a
discrimination free Bangladesh as cherished by the students-people, he said.
"We have more paths to go. But this path won't be of terrorism, conflict,
revenge or vengeance rather of patience, tolerance and understanding," the
BNP acting chairman said.
Tarique Rahman said the government which is formed through a mass uprising in
Bangladesh or any other country must be considered as the government of the
people.
So, the people continued supporting the interim government and it will do so in
the days to come as well, he hoped.
But at one stage, accountability of the interim government is also ensured
through an elected parliament, he mentioned.
So, the foremost and prime target of all the reform activities of the
government should be establishing an elected parliament and government through
ensuring people's political empowerment, said the BNP acting chairman.
He urged the government to prioritize the reform programme with the aim of
establishing an accountable government and parliament formed with elected representatives
by people's votes.
Tarique Rahman said development, democracy or reforms cannot be sustainable and
effective without the political empowerment of the people and without the
engagement of people in reform activities.
People's political empowerment can be ensured through establishing people's
voting rights by holding a free, fair and neutral election, he said.
Tarique Rahman called upon the government to take priority based measures for
the reformation of the Election Commission and public administration as well as
building law enforcement agencies as efficient forces.
Noting that the interim government has already taken some reform initiatives,
the BNP acting chairman said if the interim government cannot fix priorities in
view of agenda setting, the clique of conspirators can take various advantages
to frustrate the success of the mass upsurge.
Evidences of such conspiracies have already become visible, he added.
Tarique Rahman said the manner of this mass uprising is different from any
other previous mass-uprising as the people were confined into the shackle of
subjugation losing all democratic and human rights during the illegal regime of
the ousted autocrat.
The country was also on the verge of losing its independence and sovereignty,
he added.
So, this mass uprising not only established the people's rights but also
protected the country's independence and sovereignty, Tarique Rahman said.
The BNP acting chairman said the country and its people is now freed from the
fears of enforced disappearance, killings, abduction and terrible
"Aynaghar"
Now the first task should be establishing the people's democratic, political
and voting rights, he said.
Currently, around 12.5 crore voters are enlisted and around 2.5 crore new
voters were included in the voter's list, he mentioned.
But this 2.5 crore voters of the new generation couldn't exercise their voting
rights in any national election, Tarique Rahman said.
Neither they could elect their cherished public representative nor they get the
scope to be public representative by contesting elections, he said.
Noting that half of the total population is women and a large section of
society is youth, Tarique Rahman said it is not possible to build a
discrimination free humane state keeping this large section of society beyond political
engagement.
Unless the political and economic empowerment of people and people's participation
in reform activities can be ensured, reform activities won't bring any effective
results, he mentioned.
As part of state-politics, BNP acting chairman said
the BNP had announced a 31-point agenda in 2023 in the presence of representatives of different democratic political parties in Bangladesh, but his party always welcomes the proposal of bringing all necessary changes and modifications in reform agenda.
Terming the ongoing reform process in politics as a continuous
process in all sectors of the state, Tarique Rahman said public uprising or reform program is a normal and acceptable practice to democratic politics, where everyone is eligible to express his or her personal opinions, if necessary.
For this reason, he
said the BNP has repeatedly emphasized on establishing the right of the people's voting rights. "BNP believes that the people direct-partnership with the state-politics and political establishment is created to ensure a free, fair and credible general election," he added.
Evaluating the
people's verdict in the politics, this BNP leader said, "Just as criminal offenses are tried in judicial courts . . . political activities or political behaviors are tried in people's courts."
Greeting the
democracy-loving people of Bangladesh on the 'International Democracy Day', Tarique Rahman, on behalf of BNP, said the brave students, women, children, farmers and workers of all walks of life have shown the world that the people of Bangladesh are willing to let their chests in front of the gun-point against any dictatorship or misrule.
He said the country's
democracy-loving people would forever remember those with due respect, who made their supreme sacrifices, received serious injuries by losing their hands, feet and eyes or were permanently crippled, in the recent movement to establish democracy.
"The state must
fulfill its responsibility towards every family of the victims," Tarique hoped.
Acting BNP chairman
said people's hard-earned democratic government and its administration was supposed to be the government of the people, by the people and for the people; but in last 15 years mafia rule and sole dictatorship had been introduced in Bangladesh, turning the state into the government of the mafia, by the mafia and for the mafia.
He said this mafia gang
made the country fragile in all areas, turning the country into a totally import-dependent, debt-dependent and sub-dependent state as well.
"The vested
quarter has bankrupted the country's banks. More than Taka about 17 lakh crore were siphoned off in the last decade and a half," the senior BNP leader alleged.
The mafia cycle, he
said, has not only made the country financially fragile, it has also destroyed the socio-economic, cultural and political norms of the country, where country's constitutional and statutory institutions were rendered ineffective.
"Fascism itself
was turned into a prison of justice across the country," Tarique Rahman mentioned, adding that due to the reckless corruption and looting of the deposed dictatorship, the foreign debt of Bangladesh has exceeded US $100 billion.
He said the child who
is born in Bangladesh today has no reason with Taka 1.50 lakh debt each.
This vested circle has
completely upset the country's law and order forces while using them for their narrow party interests, he added.
Tarique Rahman said
the fallen dictatorship was the main barrier to the building a democratic-humanitarian Bangladesh. But the 15-year tyranny and misrule were not removed fully till date as the beneficiaries of the circle still being continued to challenge the incumbent interim government from within the administration or under the guise of politics as well.
The interim
government, he said, is working to establish a democratic government accountable to the people aimed to establishing the people's voting right in Bangladesh.
Tarique Rahman said
some activities of this government may not be considered as a success by everyone, but the failure of this government will be the failure of all of us.
"So this
government cannot be allowed to fail in any way. The people will not allow the interim government to fail despite various provocations from the country and abroad. However, they also must be careful that this government does not become the cause of its own failure," BNP acting
chairman stated.
Earlier, the meeting
started after 2.30 pm with recitation from the Holy Quran, where thousands of BNP leaders and workers thronged at city's Nayapaltan area to joined the rally since morning.
BNP standing committee
members and central leaders also addressed the rally.