‘Economy must serve all, not elites’

Special Correspondent :

BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury on Sunday emphasised the urgent need to democratise Bangladesh’s economy, warning that both the country’s political and economic futures are at serious risk if democratic principles continue to be undermined.

Speaking at a discussion titled “Future of Democracy and Economic Justice”-organised by the Bhashani Janashakti Party and Bhashani Anusari Parishad at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU)-Khasru called on political actors to prioritise meaningful electoral participation and move away from authoritarian tendencies.

“Those who fear elections have no business being in politics,” he said. “One cannot reject electoral participation and still claim to uphold democratic values. If you avoid elections, you belong to pressure groups or NGOs-not to politics.”

He criticised what he described as efforts to monopolise political movements, remarking, “Just as Sheikh Hasina and her family claimed sole credit for the Liberation War, similar attempts are now being made to hijack the July-August movement.

We must prevent that from happening again.”
Highlighting the global consequences of prolonged election delays, Khasru warned that revolutions and political breakdowns in other countries had often led to division, civil war, or state failure.

“In contrast, nations that returned swiftly to democratic processes have witnessed economic, political, and social progress,” he noted.