Tarique frames the Feb 12 election as a public mandate to reclaim people’s rights and rebuild the country

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday said the forthcoming national election is not simply about choosing public representatives, but about restoring people’s rights and rebuilding Bangladesh.

Addressing a large rally at the Thakurgaon Government Boys’ High School ground, he said the February 12 election would serve as a mandate to reconstruct the country, noting that citizens had been deprived of political rights and freedom of expression and had also suffered economic setbacks over the past decade.

Referring to several people seated beside the stage, Tarique said many families had lost relatives to enforced disappearances and killings, while countless others had faced repression and torture during the struggle to re-establish democratic rights.

“The time has come for people to reclaim their lost rights,” he said.

Turning to the youth, he said successive promises to create jobs and develop skilled workers had gone unfulfilled, leaving young people without proper employment opportunities.

Tarique also underscored the importance of women’s economic empowerment, saying the country cannot progress without ensuring employment for women, who make up half of the population.

On agriculture, he said the previous authoritarian government had failed to provide adequate financial support to farmers. He announced that a BNP government would introduce family cards to provide financial assistance to women and households, alongside agriculture cards to help farmers access loans more easily.

He further pledged that agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000 would be waived if BNP comes to power.

“BNP wants to move the country forward with the people. Citizens’ support is crucial, as the people are the true owners of the country,” he said.

Seeking votes for BNP candidates, Tarique outlined plans to reopen sugar mills and other industries in the region, establish a Thakurgaon Cadet College, build cold storage facilities for farmers, and develop an IT hub to create employment. He also promised to make the local airport operational at the earliest if BNP forms the government.

He added that people of all religions would live in harmony under a BNP government and that merit and competence—not religion—would determine opportunities.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who also addressed the rally, said the nation is looking to Tarique Rahman to rescue it from destruction and urged people to extend their full support during what he described as a critical time.

BNP candidates from Thakurgaon-1, Thakurgaon-2, Thakurgaon-3, Panchagarh-2 and Dinajpur-1 constituencies also spoke at the rally.