Election rally: Tarique Rahman urges people to remain vigilant

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman has urged citizens to remain alert so that no one can snatch away the people’s right to vote or manipulate the election outcome through conspiracy.

He made the call on Sunday at an election rally in Mirpur, Dhaka, just three days ahead of the 13th parliamentary election.

Addressing voters, Tarique Rahman said, “You must stay vigilant and alert, so that no one can stuff ballot boxes through a sham or staged election, and so that no one can snatch away your voting rights or alter them through conspiracy.”

He was speaking at an afternoon rally at the National Bangla High School ground in Mirpur in support of BNP candidate Sanjida Islam in the Dhaka-14 constituency.

During his speech, he stressed that the BNP would not make promises beyond what is realistically achievable.

“We do not want to place before you any promise that Allah has not granted human beings the capacity to fulfil,” he said. “We do not want to say things that are beyond human reach. We want to make only those commitments which people have the God-given ability to carry out.”

Without naming any party, the BNP chairman alleged that a certain group was misleading people in the name of religion and attempting various conspiracies.

“We have already seen their party activists being caught while trying to make fake (voting) seals. Their people have gone to simple-minded mothers and sisters, collecting NID numbers and bKash numbers to deceive them,” he claimed.

Referring to past political history without mentioning names, Tarique Rahman said such groups had repeatedly acted against the interests of the people.

“We have seen how, during the Liberation War, they took positions against the people of this country. We have seen how, during the mass movement of 1990, they abandoned the people and participated in elections alongside the autocrat of the time. At different moments in history, this group has repeatedly turned its back on the people,” he said.

Outlining what the BNP would do if it formed the government, Tarique Rahman said he could have spent his speech criticising electoral rivals, but that would not benefit the public.

“The people need plans, they need programmes—plans and programmes that can change their destiny. At this moment, the BNP is the only political party that has such plans and programmes,” he asserted.

Criticising the last 16 years of governance, he said that so-called “mega development” under the banner of mega projects had not improved the lives of ordinary people.

“There has been no real development for the people, no change in their fate. Mega projects were implemented, but only a handful of people benefited. Their mega pockets were filled with mega amounts of money, and that is where those mega projects went,” he alleged.

Calling on voters, the BNP chairman said, “Until the 12th, please keep an eye on Tuli (Sanjida Islam), the BNP candidate in Dhaka-14. From the 13th onwards, all of you will be her responsibility. We have nominated someone in this constituency who understands people’s suffering and stands by them.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Tarique Rahman joined an election roadshow at Pallabi’s Lal Math in support of Aminul Haque, the BNP candidate for Dhaka-16. There, he presented a series of plans focused on rebuilding the country and ensuring public welfare.

He said that once a people’s government is established, the BNP’s primary objective would be to change the fate of the country’s citizens.

Emphasising women’s economic empowerment, he announced that a BNP government would introduce a “family card” for every housewife, through which they would receive direct government assistance.

He also pledged to introduce a “farmer card” for the welfare of farmers, along with the waiver of agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000, including interest.

To address unemployment among educated youth, Tarique Rahman said vocational institutes and IT training centres would be established in every district and multiple such centres in Dhaka. Young people would receive training in freelancing, data processing and technical skills, enabling them to find employment at home and abroad.

He also outlined plans to provide expatriate workers with low-interest loans on easy terms, allowing them to go abroad for work without having to sell land.

To resolve Dhaka’s chronic waterlogging problem, he announced that the canal excavation programme initiated under the late president Ziaur Rahman would be revived.

He further promised permanent housing solutions, with legal recognition, for displaced and people with housing-crisis in the Dhaka-16 and Dhaka-17 constituencies.

Responding to a demand from Aminul Haque, Tarique Rahman also pledged to build a modern hospital in the area.

In his concluding remarks, the BNP chairman issued a stern warning against corruption. He said that to ensure development benefits reach people’s doorsteps, corruption must be firmly curbed and law and order must be maintained.