Desk Report:
Chief Whip of the Bangladesh National Parliament, Md. Nurul Islam, said that the taste of freedom is the right of a rickshaw puller to drive a rickshaw, the right of a farmer to cultivate and getting proper appreciation for their sweat and labor. True freedom means regaining the people’s right to bread and livelihood.
The Chief Whip said these things in his speech as the chief guest at a program organized by the Bangladesh Nationalist Cultural Party on the occasion of the great independence and national day at the Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall of the National Press Club in the capital on Friday (April 03, 2026).
Chief Whip, Md. Nurul Islam said that after a long democratic struggle, the people have started to reap the benefits of independence. An example of good governance has been created under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. He said that the main goal of the government is to ensure the fundamental rights of the common people. BNP suffered for a long time because the people of the country were well off during the tenure of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam said, people have been starving since independence. During the famine, one person’s vomit was eaten by another person. Mothers used to make their sons into corpses and beg. At that time, Kamal got married again wearing a crown. There was no such thing as law and order. Fathers were forced to use axes on their sons’ heads, Jubo League boys were given unlicensed weapons. Bodies could be seen lying on the roadside. At that time, martyred President Ziaur Rahman took charge under public pressure. As a result of his canal digging program, the food crisis was resolved within three years and Bangladesh was the first to export food to Senegal.
Md. Nurul Islam said, no kind of apolitical behavior will be tolerated regarding the July Charter. BNP is in favor of this charter and we are committed to implementing every letter of it. Prime Minister and Parliament Leader Tarique Rahman has promised to implement the July Charter and the government is working towards this goal. We have no problem with the implementation of the July Charter. It will be implemented through a systematic process so that no questions arise about the legal process.
Regarding the opposition parties, the Chief Whip said, they are changing their positions one after another, sometimes demanding local government elections, sometimes reforms, and sometimes changes to the constitution. Before the elections, they wanted the PR system. This system is not available in America, England or our neighboring democratic countries. They were saying that if PR is not given, the elections will not be allowed. But we made it clear then that the elections cannot be held on the pretext of implementing any particular unreasonable demand.
Criticizing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he said that he surrendered leaving independence unprotected. His party, the Awami League, has laundered 27 lakh crore taka from the country. Regarding Tarique Rahman, Nurul Islam said, he did not come to steal money. He is a thrifty person who does not run central AC in his office and can be reached even if he calls at 3 am. Tarique Rahman introduced farmer cards and family cards and proposed that no one could be the Prime Minister more than twice.
He said that after independence, Ziaur Rahman improved the law and order situation. He was the only military ruler in the world who introduced multi-party democracy by issuing martial law. He gave freedom to the press. As a result, so many media outlets are operating at present. People can now draw satirical cartoons of Tarique Rahman without any hindrance. And the Prime Minister also praised his critics.
He also said that when darkness descended on the country for the second time, Begum Khaleda Zia took charge. The fate of the people started changing. The country developed. ‘During Begum Zia’s tenure, why did the people of the country live well, why did the country develop? Only because of these reasons, we have endured 17 years of oppression. Many people gave their lives for democracy.
Referring to Tarique Rahman’s political foresight, he said that Tarique Rahman is in favor of the ‘July Charter’ and will implement every aspect of it to the letter. He has also set a precedent by visiting the house of the opposition leader after winning the election.
The event was addressed by the administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation, freedom fighter Abdus Salam, Ekushey Padak recipient Principal Sukumar Barua, and the event president and Bangladesh Nationalist Cultural Party president Humayun Kabir. Leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Cultural Party and media personnel were present at the event.
