Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Monday said that there was an attempt to create confusion in the people’s mind about which one is first — whether election or reforms.
‘The BNP has no dispute with the interim government over reform programme. Those who are creating confusion in the public mind, whether reforms should be carried out before the elections or after, have different target,’ Tarique said while highlighting the current situation in the country at the annual conference of a faction of Dhaka Union of Journalists at the National Press Club.
‘The BNP believes that the reform programme does not end itself. When one person starts a reform programme, another person takes forward the necessary reforms. Because reform is an ongoing process,’ Tarique said.
He said that each of the people, in the government or outside the government, needs to remember that formal reforms are largely ineffective without a qualitative transition to a democratic political culture.
‘If we want to make the reform programme effective, we must first make arrangements to alleviate the daily hardships of the people. If the daily necessities of the people cannot be ensured, the desired benefits of the reform will not be achieved,’ he said.
He said that, after the ousted dictator fled the country, the interim government started its journey with a huge responsibility to fulfil the aspirations of the people who want democracy.
‘However, all pro-democracy forces and the journalist community need to be vigilant. Various conspiracies have started in the meantime to hinder our ongoing journey to establish democracy,’ he said, adding that the ousted dictator and her circle of friends have started trying to rise again adopting various strategies.
‘The evil forces are engaged in creating misunderstandings between the pro-Bangladesh forces from inside and outside the country. However, if we all remain vigilant, I firmly believe that there will be no room for misunderstandings between the pro-Bangladesh forces,’ he added.
Mentioning the disappearances, killings and torture of opposition leaders and activists including BNP, he said, ‘It is our responsibility to repay the blood debt of the martyrs by establishing a democratic, humane and non-discriminatory Bangladesh, as they wished.’
‘At the same time, it is our duty to take measures so that the fallen dictator and his associates cannot be rehabilitated in politics,’ he said.
The new generation has shown that Awami League and independence do not match together, Awami League and democracy are enemies of each other, he said.
Stressing the need for maintaining objectivity in journalism, he said, ‘We have seen that during the period of fascism, objectivity was almost lost in most cases in every branch of the media. There will be, and can be, disagreements on any subject or issue among writers, journalists, intellectuals or any person. This is the beauty of democratic culture.’
