Adviser Mahdi Amin lists 48 key achievements of BNP over 48 years

Prime Minister’s Adviser and Spokesperson Mahdi Amin has highlighted 48 achievements of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the ruling party, over its 48-year journey.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday evening marking the BNP’s 48th founding anniversary, Amin said the party’s record of achievements and successes is extensive, and he selected 48 notable milestones based on his personal observations and assessment.

Among the achievements he listed are the introduction of “Bangladeshi nationalism,” President Ziaur Rahman’s 19-point programme, a sovereign and independent foreign policy, restoration of multiparty democracy and press freedom, and stronger engagement with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Muslim world.

He also credited the BNP with launching nationwide canal-digging programmes, export-oriented garment industries and overseas employment, as well as establishing the Bangladesh Shishu Academy, children’s parks and the Independence Award and Ekushey Padak.

Other milestones cited by Amin include the introduction of self-reliant village government, rural electrification, mass education, free-market economic policies and the restoration of parliamentary democracy.

He also listed the introduction of the caretaker government system, VAT, compulsory primary education, free education for girls up to Class XII, food-for-education programmes, and the establishment of the National University, Bangladesh Open University and private universities.

Environmental initiatives cited in the list include the National Tree Plantation Programme, the Environment Conservation Act and the introduction of CNG vehicles after phasing out two-stroke three-wheelers. He also credited the BNP with constructing the country’s first flyover.

Among more recent initiatives, Amin mentioned former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Vision 2030, the establishment of an independent Anti-Corruption Commission, expansion of grassroots healthcare, opening mobile communications to the private sector, formation of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and establishment of the Coast Guard.

He also included BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman’s 31-point state reform proposal, agricultural loan waivers, the introduction of farmer and family cards, and monthly honorariums for imams, muezzins, khatibs, priests and other religious figures.

Mahdi Amin said the BNP has evolved from the self-reliance philosophy of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia’s welfare-oriented governance toward what he described as a future-focused, technology-driven and accountable Bangladesh under Tarique Rahman’s leadership.

He paid tribute to BNP activists who, he said, endured enforced disappearance, killings and severe repression during the party’s long struggle for restoration of democracy. He also thanked people from all sections of society for their support of the party.