Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman returned to Dhaka on Thursday after 17 years and used his first address to party supporters to call for calm and unity, placing minority safety and law and order at the centre of his message.
Addressing thousands gathered at the July 36 Expressway shortly after landing in the capital, Rahman said Bangladesh belongs to people of all faiths and regions.
“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,” he said.
Rahman’s remarks come at a time when minority communities, particularly Hindus, have reported a series of attacks since the interim government took charge in August last year following the ouster of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The most recent incident involved the lynching of a 25-year-old Hindu worker in Mymensingh city.
Minority groups have staged protests in Dhaka, accusing the interim government of failing to protect them, while India has repeatedly raised concerns over attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.
Calling on people across political and religious lines to maintain stability, Rahman said, “Whatever political party we belong to, whatever religion we believe in, whether we are non-partisan individuals - all must join hands to maintain law and order.”
The 60-year-old leader, son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is being seen as a leading contender for the country’s top post ahead of the next elections.
His call for unity also comes as Jamaat-e-Islami, the BNP’s former coalition partner during the 2001–2006 period, has emerged as a key political rival after the interim government banned the Awami League.
Bangladesh has seen renewed political tension following the killing of radical youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a figure associated with last year’s mass protests that led to the collapse of the Hasina government.
In his speech, Rahman spoke of democratic rights and invoked past movements in the country’s history. Referring to the Liberation War, he said, “Our loving motherland was achieved through the blood of lakhs of martyrs in the 1971 Liberation War.”
He also recalled later political struggles, including the Sepoy-People's Revolution of November 7, 1975, the 1990 anti-autocracy movement, and the uprising of August 5, 2024.
“In 2024, the students and masses from all walks of life protected the independence and sovereignty of this country on that day,” he said.
Referring to a well-known quote by US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Rahman outlined his political pitch.
“I have a plan for the people of my country and for my country,” state-owned Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha quoted him as saying. “This plan is for the interest of the people, for the development of the country, for changing the lot of the country. To implement the plan, I need the support of all the people of the country. If you stand beside us, God willing, we will be able to implement my plan.”
Rahman said Bangladeshis now want to regain their democratic rights and their right to speak freely.
After addressing supporters, he urged people to pray for his mother, Khaleda Zia, whom he later visited at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. Zia, a three-time prime minister, is undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit.
