We still have failures in building a cohesive country: Fakhrul
The secretary general of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Mirza Fakhrul Islam, has laid emphasis on unifying the nation as the long fight for democracy has seemingly come to an end through the uprising.
“Our fight for democracy has ended. But we still have failures in formulation of a roadmap towards building the country with unity,” he said while addressing a programme at Dinajpur Government College on Friday.
The college’s economics department held the dignitaries’ felicitation programme, marking its golden jubilee.
Addressing the programme as the chief guest, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir pointed out the politicians’ collective failure to turn Bangladesh into a happy and peaceful nation even after 53 years of independence.
“We suffer from a type of narrow-mindedness about politics and have fallen to the pit of ethical practices. We could not take pride in our nation even a few days ago. Now, there is a renewed sense of hope and we have started dreaming,” he stated.
The BNP leader recalled the vision of former president Ziaur Rahman, saying, “We are trying to materialise the dream of a happy, prosperous and democratic Bangladesh, as envisioned by the true proclaimer of independence, Ziaur Rahman.”
He laid emphasis on practicing democracy to attain the people’s rights. “The democratic institutions in Bangladesh could not flourish as there were repeated attempts to kill democracy. Political parties were engaged in rivalries among themselves. True democracy can be attained if we advance through democratic practices and tolerance. We will be able to achieve our rights.”
He, however, observed that the people could not yet overcome the tendency of narrow-mindedness and called for a fresh start to build a prosperous country.
The programme was chaired by Zaheda Parveen, head of the economics department, and attended by Dinajpur Government College principal AKM Al Abdullah, Thakurgaon Government College’s former principal ANM Golam Rabbani, Dinajpur Government Women’s College’s former principal Abdul Jabbar, and Pirganj Government College’s former principal Abdur Rahman.