United News of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Friday declared himself and his entire cabinet "workers" dedicated to building the nation, calling upon people from all walks of life, including the working class, to join a collective effort to build Bangladesh. "As workers build factories, homes, roads and industries, I, too, want to enlist my name as a worker in the service of building Bangladesh. At the same time, I want to include all members of my cabinet as workers, because as you build different things, we want to stand beside you and contribute to building the country,” he told a workers’ rally. Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal arranged the rally in front of the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, marking May Day. The Prime Minister urged the country’s people to take a pledge on the day, also known as International Workers’ Day, to build their “desired Bangladesh." He said as the people of the country are moving forward through hard work, the government wants to build the nation by staying with them with united efforts. “That is why our election slogan was ‘we will work, we will build the country, Bangladesh come first’. This is our present slogan and our future slogan. Today, we have only one task — building the nation," Tarique Rahman said. Describing their slogan as the government's guiding principle, he expressed confidence that Bangladesh would achieve its long-cherished aspirations through collective effort. On the occasion of International Workers' Day, the Prime Minister urged people from all walks of life, irrespective of their gender, to take a vow to build a Bangladesh that every man and woman dreams of. “Let each of us prepare ourselves as builders of the nation. We will spend the rest of our lives as workers dedicated to building the country,” he said. As Tarique Rahman asked the audience whether they were ready to enlist themselves as workers in building the nation, they responded with a resounding “yes.” In response, the Prime Minister said, “Alhamdulillah. We must remember the words of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman: ‘Bangladesh is my first, Bangladesh is my last. My life is for Bangladesh, my death is for Bangladesh.’ Let this Bangladesh be our first and last address. Today, once again, we reaffirm our commitment and pledge to build the nation.” He also promised to reopen the factories that were shut down in recent years and set up new ones to create employment opportunities and develop the country. “We know that when industries and factories are established, they create employment for workers. If workers stay well, the country will remain well. We also know that if farmers do well, Bangladesh will do well. In other words, when ordinary working people are better off, the country as a whole prospers,” Tarique Rahman observed. Criticising the past Awami League government, he alleged that workers and other working people, students, teachers and politicians were deprived of their rights over the years and thus the economy became import-dependent. The Prime Minister said many industries were shut down during that time, affecting employment, and promised steps to reopen closed factories. “We have taken initiatives to gradually reopen the factories that were shut down in previous years. I have instructed the relevant authorities to take steps to determine how quickly each factory can be brought back into operation and to ensure rapid employment opportunities for unemployed workers. A meeting on this matter is scheduled for this week,” he said.