No reason to return to pre-August 5 politics, says Tarique Rahman as he takes charge of BNP

Newly appointed BNP chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday mentioned there may possibly be “no reason” for Bangladesh to reach to the political cases that existed earlier than the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s regime on August 5, 2024.

Newly appointed Bangladesh Nationalist Bag collectively (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday mentioned there used to be “no reason” for the nation to revert to the political atmosphere that existed earlier than the autumn of Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024.

Speaking weeks earlier than the February 12 total elections, Rahman also asserted that the BNP would steer Bangladesh “in the good path” if it fashioned the subsequent government. At 60, he has emerged as a frontrunner for the prime minister’s post.

Rahman’s elevation used to be licensed by the BNP’s Standing Committee all the way by means of a gathering held on Friday, days after the dying of his mom, feeble prime minister and long-time birthday celebration chief Khaleda Zia, who handed away on December 30 following a prolonged illness.

Addressing editors and senior journalists hours after his appointment, Rahman acknowledged lingering political challenges but rejected any return to the peril that prevailed earlier than August 5. “We faced complications earlier than and we continue to face them now. But there isn’t any reason to return to the interval earlier than August 5,” he mentioned. Stressing dialogue, he added that variations inside of society need to be resolved by means of dialogue in blueprint of difference.

Rahman mentioned the continuation of democratic practices and accountability would be central to his management if the BNP received strength. Drawing on key moments in Bangladesh’s history, he mentioned the beliefs of the 1971 Liberation Battle, the 1990 mass mosey against the HM Ershad regime and the August 5 uprising need to recordsdata the nation’s future path.

“If we are able to protect these moments in solutions, I strongly factor in we are able to dash Bangladesh forward in the good path,” he mentioned. He also outlined huge priorities for reform, pointing to healthcare and economic verbalize as areas that will receive attention below BNP rule.

Reiterating his commitment to democracy, Rahman mentioned meaningful change would be that you would also accept as true with easiest by means of sustained democratic processes. “There may possibly be also many hurdles and it would even be extraordinarily complex, but when accountability and democracy are maintained over time, change will discover,” he mentioned.

Alternatively, Rahman did now no longer spell out his birthday celebration’s put of living on shifting geopolitical dynamics or explain on solutions for navigating the altered home political landscape earlier than subsequent month’s polls.

Hasina, who used to be ousted after violent student-led protests over July and August that 365 days, fled to India on August 5, 2024.

Three days later, Muhammad Yunus took over as head of the intervening time government, which disbanded Hasina’s Awami League birthday celebration by means of an govt explain. A special Bangladeshi tribunal subsequently sentenced Hasina to dying penalty on prices of committing “crimes against humanity” by means of her “brutal” efforts to tame the student-led protests, termed the July Insurrection.

With Hasina and her Awami League now now no longer in the fray, Rahman’s BNP is the forerunner with its once most indispensable ally Jamaat-e-Islami being the foremost rival.

Earlier gradual on Friday evening, the BNP posted on X: “Following the passing of BNP Chairperson and feeble High Minister, national chief Begum Khaleda Zia, the put of living of birthday celebration Chairman became vacant. Per the BNP structure, a gathering of the Nationwide Standing Committee used to be held.” “At the meeting, Mr Tarique Rahman used to be unanimously appointed to the vacant post and formally given responsibility because the Chairman of the BNP,” it added.

Rahman returned to Bangladesh on December 25 after 17 years of self-exile in London.

In 2002, Rahman used to be made BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary Traditional and became Senior Vice Chairman in 2009. In 2018, when Zia used to be imprisoned, Rahman used to be appointed performing chairperson of the birthday celebration.

“I certainly have a plot,” he mentioned in his first public take care of on the day he returned from UK, it looks to be referring to the African-American rights activist Martin Luther King’s infamous quote, “I certainly have a dream.” PTI AR/RD GSP NPK NPK

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