BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday urged party leaders and workers to act responsibly and with integrity, warning that failure to meet public expectations could undermine trust in their leadership.
Speaking virtually at the Chuadanga district unit BNP biennial council, he also cautioned his party colleagues that they must navigate a difficult path ahead to overcome the challenges of the upcoming national election.
"The people of the country may give you the responsibility of governing, but you must prepare yourselves accordingly. To assume responsibility, you must first demonstrate a responsible role and make yourselves qualified to do so," the BNP leader said.
He said the BNP leaders and workers are choosing the qualified leadership to lead the party’s Chuadanga unit through the council.
The same way, Tarique said, BNP leaders and workers at all levels must play a responsible role and understand the expectations of the people of their respective areas as soldiers of Shaheed Zia and Khaleda Zia.
“You must speak, behave and present yourselves in line with the expectations of people. If you can play this responsible role, the people of Bangladesh will entrust you with responsibility (for running the country). Otherwise, they’ll think twice before doing so," he told his party colleagues.
After the fall of the autocratic regime of the Awami League, the BNP leader said that people now despise the party for what it has done to the country and its people over the past 15 years.
"But this does not mean that everything is now smooth. The road ahead is fraught with many dangers. The election I am talking about will be full of challenges, and if you want to overcome them, you will have to navigate many difficult obstacles,” he said.
Tarique said BNP leaders and workers must remember that the people of the entire country are watching them. "You must understand the weight of the responsibility on your shoulders and know what to do and what not to do. If you grasp this, the people of the country will gladly empower you to lead the country.”
"Let us pledge that from this moment onwards, our actions every day will align with the expectations of the people of Bangladesh, and we will prepare ourselves to implement the 31-point outline we have presented to the nation," the BNP said.
He said an interim government is currently running the country after it was freed from the Awami League's autocratic regime through a mass movement.
Tarique said that an election is necessary to return power to people and establish a government with true public representatives. "Holding the election is the prime responsibility of the interim government. The country’s problems will gradually be resolved if genuine public representatives come to power through a credible election.”
He said that the longer the election is delayed, the greater the conspiracy against the country will become. "The autocrats, whom people ousted at the cost of their lives, are not sitting idle. They are conspiring against the country with the help of their local and foreign masters.”
The BNP leader also said only genuine representatives, elected by people, can initiate reforms and implement them effectively.
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He said many people are now talking about state reforms, but it was the BNP that presented its reform proposals and the 31-point reform outline when no one else was thinking about it.
"From the chief adviser to many others, people are talking about reforms. But real reforms can only be done if the genuine representatives of people are elected," Tarique observed.
He said when politics becomes sick every institution in the country suffers. "The previous despotic regime destroyed all the country's institutions. To restore them for the welfare of the people, competent representatives must be elected through the vote of the citizens."
After nearly 14 years, the Chuadanga district unit held its council at the local Town Football Field, with overwhelming enthusiasm among party leaders and workers. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir inaugurated the council in the morning.
Speaking at the event, Fakhrul said BNP wants the election to be held as soon as possible, as various plots have been hatched against the country and its people. "We have no problem with the youth and students. Elections are essential for the country and the nation. We’ll certainly make room for the youth, but they must move forward in the right direction, along with everyone.”
Fakhrul said some young leaders are threatening not to hold elections without completing all reforms. "However, the BNP does not want conflict with the youth. BNP wants the election to save the country and protect the interests of its people."
The BNP leader also said there are many conspiracies being hatched from various quarters to destabilise the country and delay the election. "But the BNP wants to make it clear that the people can resist all plots. Only an elected parliament can foil these conspiracies. BNP is stronger and more united than ever before."
He alleged that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whom the people trusted blindly, first established fascism in Bangladesh between 1972 and 75.
The BNP leader also claimed that the Awami League is essentially a fascist party, not a democratic one. "There is no democracy in their very DNA."
He also said the Awami League had evolved into a terrible dictatorship through repression and torture over the last 15 years. "In the end, they fled the country in the face of public wrath."