CCC Mayor welcomes LDP Leaders

Chattogram Bureau :

Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain on Wednesday welcomed leaders and activists to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), describing it as a party founded on the ideology of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and led by national leaders Begum Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman.

He said BNP represents the aspirations of the country’s 170 million people and remains the largest political force in Bangladesh. Alleging sustained repression, he said there was no form of suppression, oppression or torture that the Awami League had not used in an attempt to weaken BNP. “Yet BNP continues to survive because its greatest strength lies with the general public,” he added.

Dr Hossain made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a ceremony where a large number of leaders and activists of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) formally joined BNP. The event was held at the VIP Banquet Hall of Kazir Deuri VIP Tower in the city on Wednesday evening.

Former general secretary of Chattogram South District BNP Professor Sheikh Mohammad Mohiuddin presided over the programme, while former acting president of Metropolitan Chhatra Dal Jasim Uddin Chowdhury conducted it. Former general secretary of Chattogram Metropolitan BNP Abul Hashem Bakkar addressed the gathering as the main speaker.

Highlighting the contributions of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, Dr Hossain said he had initiated canal-digging programmes in various parts of the country, including Chandanaish and Satkania, after realising that an agricultural revolution was essential to keep the wheels of the economy moving.

He said that under Zia’s leadership, the country experienced an agricultural revolution, the garment sector gained a strong foundation, and remittance income was strengthened through overseas employment-now one of the highest contributors to the national GDP.