Arriving in Bangladesh after 17 years of exile, Tarique Rahman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has sought to cast himself in the mould of Martin Luther King Jr and promised the country he has a plan. He promised inclusivity and said his rule would have space for all ethnic and religious groups.
Arriving in Bangladesh after 17 years of exile, Tarique Rahman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday sought to cast himself in the mould of Martin Luther King Jr and promised the country he has a plan. He promised inclusivity and said his rule would have space for all ethnic and religious groups.
Rahman arrived in Bangladesh at a decisive moment in the country when the country is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in a few weeks. But, as the country is being torn apart by political violence aimed at politicians, media, and religious minorities, there are questions whether elections would be held on time.
In his first speech after arriving in the country, Rahman sought to reject the hardliner forces of 1947 that have been systematically removing the foundations of the country laid in 1971 since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina. At the same time, he dubbed Hasina’s ouster as Bangladesh’s second liberation.
Just as the nation achieved independence in 1971, people from all walks of life once again came together to protect Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty in 2024 when the ousted Hasina, said Rahman, according to The Daily Star.
Rahman invoked Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I have a dream’ speech and promised his rule would have space for all ethnic and religious groups.
“I have a plan. We have a plan for the people for the people and the country. Together we will work and build our Bangladesh,” said Rahman.
Rahman further said, “Today, the people of Bangladesh want to regain their right to speak. They want to get back their democratic rights. The time has come for all of us to build the country together. This country belongs to people of the hills and the plains, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. We want to build a safe Bangladesh where every woman, man, and child can leave home and return safely.”
Rahman is the Acting Chairman of BNP and is the prime ministerial face of the party. With Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) barred from contesting elections, the BNP is expected to be the frontrunner in the elections and Rahman, a son of former President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is considered to be a leading contender to the prime minister’s post.
Rahman arrives to a mass reception
Rahman arrived in Dhaka from London with wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman. From the airport, he went to the July 36 Expressway to deliver a speech and then went to the Evercare hospital where her mother, Zia, is under treatment, according to Prothom Alo
Several thousands of supporters lined the roads as Rahman arrived and travelled first to deliver a speech and then see his mother.
In the wake of the ongoing political violence in which Islamists have also targeted BNP, the authorities said they had beefed up security arrangements along the routes and sites that Rahman visited. Rahman is expected to have a security detail as well as he is the BNP’s face in the elections.
Rahman had been living in 2008 in exile. He had claimed that the previous Hasina-led government had conspired to have him killed.
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