On the occasion of ‘National Revolution and Solidarity Day’, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman spoke virtually from the UK as the chief guest at a discussion organized by the party at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in Agargaon on Wednesday evening (November 12, 2025).
At the beginning of his speech, he paid tribute to the martyrs and said that November 7, 1975 was “the day to identify the enemies and allies of Bangladesh.” He said, “Those who wanted to turn the country into a vassal state, those who took away the democratic rights of the people—they were defeated on November 7 through the historic revolution of the sepoys and the people.”
Tarique Rahman said, “1971 was a war to achieve independence, and 2024 was a struggle to protect independence.” He called for national unity to be consolidated in the spirit of November 7 so that no one can take away the rights of the people in the future.
The BNP leader said, “To protect national unity, we must remember—the Liberation War of 1971, the Sepoy-People’s Revolution of 1975, the anti-dictatorship movement of 1990, or the anti-fascist mass uprising of 2024—the goal of each movement was to establish the rights of the people.”
He complained, “Despite various political discussions with the interim government for months, issues close to the people’s lives like agriculture, education, employment, women’s safety, or road safety have not been discussed.”
Tarique Rahman said, “7,000 people have been killed in road accidents in the country in a year, almost half of whom are women and children. Yet there has been no effective discussion on road safety.”
Highlighting the crisis in the agricultural sector, he said, “This time, 1.15 million tons of potatoes have been produced, but farmers are facing a loss of about Tk 3,000 crore due to the gap between cold storage costs and market prices. Yet the state is going to spend almost the same amount of money on a pointless referendum.”
He further said, “Establishing onion storage facilities or ensuring fair prices for farmers is more important to the people than a ‘referendum’.”
Tarique Rahman expressed concern regarding women’s employment, saying, “There are more than 20 million working women in the country. If the proposal to reduce working hours is implemented, it will have a negative impact on women’s employment.”
Regarding unemployment, he said, “The poverty rate in the country has reached 28 percent, and 1 in 5 highly educated people is unemployed. In the last 14 months, 353 garment factories have closed, causing more than 100,000 workers to lose their jobs.”
He also expressed concern about the deterioration of the education system, saying, “Not a single student from 202 institutions in the country could pass the 2025 Higher Secondary Examination. The highest number of students failed in English and ICT. Instead of educational reforms, research is being done on the so-called ‘referendum’—which is sad.”
Regarding the economy, he said, “At least 24 banks in the country’s banking sector are facing capital shortage. GDP growth has fallen below 4 percent, which is much lower than the 7.6 percent during the BNP government in 2006.”
He warned, “Those who are giving various conditions to prevent the elections are obstructing the path of establishing the rights of the people who want democracy. If any party thinks the interim government is weak and uses evil tactics, it will ultimately lead to political disaster for them.”
Tarique Rahman said, “BNP has made maximum concessions to protect the country’s democracy and sovereignty. BNP is determined to protect what has been promised in the July Charter.”
In the last part of his speech, he recalled a quote by the independence proclaimer, martyred President Ziaur Rahman, and said,
“National unity is our strength, division is our weakness.”
