Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday urged party leaders and activists to engage in a ‘new battle’ to implement the party’s election manifesto, saying his government cannot succeed without their supoort.

“One battle has ended, now another battle has begun. That battle is to implement the commitments we made to people,” he said while addressing a views-exchange meeting with district-level leaders of BNP and its three associate bodies.

Tarique holds meeting with BNP’s grassroots leaders

The closed-door meeting began around 10:45 am at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) auditorium in the capital.

Tarique said BNP promised to ensure good governance, create a country with a healthy educational environment for students and guarantee safety for women, men and children.

“We told people that we want to build a country where no one will face repression, enforced disappearances or killings for political reasons. We want a political culture where there will be debates and discussions but no oppression,” he said.

Referring to the party’s election manifesto, Tarique said it was initially BNP’s manifesto before the February 12 election but after the party formed the government, it became the manifesto of  people and the government.

“Fifty-two percent of the people who voted gave their verdict in favour of this manifesto. We must make our highest efforts to implement everything we have promised in this manifesto,” he said.

The Prime Minister urged party leaders and activists to stand beside the government to ensure the implementation of the manifesto.

“We call it a BNP government. But if BNP does not cooperate, in many cases the government will not be able to succeed,” he said.

Tarique said the success of BNP depends on the party leaders and activists attending the meeting as well as those leading the party at different levels, standing behind the government.

“Otherwise, we will not be able to take the government to its desired goals. That is why the cooperation of all the leaders present here is needed,” he added.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir attended the meeting as special guest, while BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi chaired the session.

Party Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Selima Rahman and AZM Zahid Hossain were also present.

This was the first views-exchange meeting between Tarique Rahman and the party’s grassroots leaders since the 13th parliamentary election held on February 12.

Earlier, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the party’s election manifesto and the government’s plans would be presented before the leaders, alongside discussions on organisational activities.