Staff Reporter :
Tarique Rahman, Acting Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), stated that it is our responsibility to ensure that fascists and their allies are not rehabilitated in politics.
He emphasised that both legal and political measures would be taken to achieve this goal.
He made these remarks while addressing the annual general meeting of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) at the Jatiya Press Club in the morning as the chief guest.
Tarique Rahman highlighted the formation of the Election Commission as a crucial step towards establishing an elected parliament and government. “The interim government has already reconstituted the Election Commission. We believe this is a significant step towards forming an elected parliament and government, with representatives chosen through the people’s votes,” he said.
He noted that the recent mass uprising was not solely about elections, but also a reaction to the reality that a fugitive dictator had managed to establish fascism in the country by repeatedly forming governments without elections, rendering the people politically powerless.
“Election is certainly a key issue in establishing people’s rights in democratic political practice,” he remarked. Tarique stressed that elections were essential to empower the people and restore their ownership of the country.
He called for the state system to be restructured so that all public representatives, from union councils to parliament, are directly elected by the people to prevent the rise of fascism. He also advocated for ensuring voting rights for all citizens, without discrimination, to build a Bangladesh free from disparity.
Tarique claimed that the BNP had no conflict with the government over reforms, but argued that to make reform efforts effective, public suffering must first be alleviated.
He said that forces in favour of Bangladesh should take unilateral steps to resist the rehabilitation of fascist elements. “If people are granted their rights to vote, they will be able to eliminate the fascist forces,” he said, reiterating that the BNP demands elections to be held promptly after all necessary preparations are completed.
Tarique also emphasised the importance of maintaining objectivity in journalism, which he claimed had been eroded during the autocratic rule of the Awami League. He called on all, including journalists, to remain vigilant as fascist forces and their allies were conspiring to create division and reassert their influence.
At the beginning of his speech, Tarique remembered the six journalists who were killed during the anti-fascist July-August movement and prayed for the salvation of their souls.
Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, speaking at the programme, criticised the Awami League for not only destroying the country’s institutions through politicisation but also stifling media independence in its pursuit of a fascist regime.
He stated that the primary responsibility of the interim government was to ensure the establishment of a democratic government through free and fair elections.
Parwar observed that many of the current government’s decisions and actions were out of step with the desires of the public.
He called on the government to implement the necessary reforms to ensure a credible election and opposed the formation of the Election Commission under a law enacted by the Awami League, which he argued contradicted the hopes and aspirations of the people.
Parwar urged political parties to unite in their efforts to oust the fascist Awami League through the election. “We, the democratic forces, can develop a strategy to achieve this,” he said, adding that the Awami League was not a democratic party and thus had no right to practice democracy.
The programme was also attended by BNP Standing Committee member Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Joint Secretary General Shaheeduddin Chowdhury Anee, and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Dhaka South City unit Ameer Nurul Islam Bulbul, among others.
