BNP to build monuments of July uprising
Staff Reporter :
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman on Tuesday said if his party voted to power it will build monuments across the country in memory of those who embraced martyrdom in the July-August uprising, to make the revolution memorable forever.
Tarique Rahman praised BNP leaders and activists for supporting the injured and the families of the martyrs, irrespective of party affiliation.
Tarique shared the view with the party men while addressing virtually a workshop in Cumilla.
Highlighting the importance of education, he emphasized the need to strengthen primary education as a foundation for national progress.
He proposed reorganizing the system to ensure the country’s most talented individuals become teachers.
He also pledged to increase teachers’ salaries and allowances, enabling them to focus solely on their professional duties without needing other sources of income.
Criticizing the Awami League, Tarique accused the outgoing government of clinging to power through corruption.
He stressed the importance of instilling anti-corruption values in students from an early age, fostering an ethical mindset from primary school onward.
Additionally, he announced plans to set up small cooperative-based cold storage facilities in various locations to reduce vegetable wastage and spoilage.
Meanwhile, the BNP in a separate programme on the same day, proposed dismantling the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and forming a ‘police commission’ to transform the police force into a more people-friendly law enforcement agency.
BNP Standing Committee Member Hafiz Uddin Ahmed presented these suggestions during a press conference at the BNP chairperson’s office in Gulshan, in the capital, while outlining reforms for the police administration.
The proposed police commission would act as a watchdog, monitoring the activities of law enforcement agencies.
Hafiz suggested creating citizen committees at the upazila level to engage local communities in observing police activities and providing feedback.
Proposal to Abolish Rab: “We’ve recommended abolishing Rab as it has garnered significant criticism both domestically and internationally for numerous extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and murders,” Hafiz said.
“We believe disbanding Rab would send a positive message to the public,” he added.
Responding to a question about reforming Rab instead of disbanding it, Hafiz compared the situation to medical science: “When an organ becomes entirely gangrenous, amputation becomes the only solution.”
Former Home Affairs Secretary SM Zahurul Islam and former IGPs Abdul Kaium and Asraful Huda were also present at the press briefing.