PM, Opposition Leader call for bipartisan, united efforts for rebuilding country

Noting differences in opinions is common in democracies, the prime minister and the opposition leader on Thursday called for shunning major conflicts and working unitedly for the sake of rebuilding the country.

Speaking at the parliament, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said that even political competitions among parties are natural in democracies, noting that these differences would not hinder potential efforts towards working together.

On the other hand, Leader of the Opposition and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said the potential united efforts from the ruling and opposition parties would set an example for other democratic countries in the world.

In his speech, Tarique said, “Whether we are from the ruling party or the opposition, let us all work together to build a welfare state. That is why I always try to say, ‘Bangladesh first, Bangladesh for all’.”

The Leader of the House also noted that aggressive conflicts and divisions would revive fascist forces.

Calling upon the people to remain united, he said divisions and conflicts among pro-democracy forces could ultimately help pave the way for the revival of the ousted fascist forces.

“We must not forget that divisions and conflicts among the pro-democracy forces could ultimately revive the ousted fascist evil forces and perhaps facilitate their return. For the sake of future generations and as part of our duty to the martyrs, we must continue the work of rebuilding the state in a united manner,” said Tarique Rahman.

“There will be differences of opinion in democracy and a democratic governance system. They exist all over the world. There will also be political competition. That too is a democratic practice. But we must remain vigilant so that differences of opinion do not turn into hostility, honourable Speaker.”

Noting that the parliament is the centre of all activities, the prime minister said, "We want to make the present parliament the centre of all activities. I firmly believe that it has been proved through the discussions we held during this session that none of us lacked goodwill."

"There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that we, both sides, have been working for the interests of the country and its people, holding discussions and trying to take effective initiatives in this regard," he added.

Tarique Rahman sincerely thanked all the lawmakers present for keeping the Jatiya Sangsad effective and vibrant.

"Every democracy-loving person expects this Jatiya Sangsad to discuss the problems of the people and alleviate their sufferings, even to some extent. They expect this parliament to bring peace and prosperity to them," he said.

Debt burden on ruling party

Referring to the country's economy, the prime minister said the ousted evil forces, whose mandate was rejected by the people in 2001, returned to state power through conspiracies in 2009, as the Leader of the Opposition had also mentioned.

"They snatched away the people's rights. Their misrule, corruption, plundering and money laundering until fleeing the country on 5 August 2024, forced Bangladesh to bear the stigma of being a loan defaulter," he said.

"Now the responsibility of freeing Bangladesh from this curse of loan default has fallen on the shoulders of the BNP," the premier added.

Tarique Rahman said the BNP government, after taking responsibility for running the state under such circumstances, has taken initiatives to free Bangladesh from the scourge of loan default.

"Due to various initiatives, the loan default ratio has now declined. It was 35.5 percent after the previous election, but has now come down to 32.6 percent. This means the situation has started improving under the present BNP government," he added.

He, however, said the burden of foreign loans worth thousands of crores of taka still remains on the country and its people due to the plundering and money laundering during the fascist regime.

Shafiqur stresses July Charter implementation

"We hope that the ruling and opposition will work together to take the country forward and make the nation united so that the country can set an example in parliamentary democracy," Shafiqur said.

He said the nation has sacrificed a lot for establishing democracy and good governance but every time the country has failed to fulfill people's aspirations.

In July 2024, people across the country ousted the fascist regime which carried out killing, enforced disappearance and misrule on the people, aiming to bring lasting reforms in the ruling system in the country and to establish people's rights.

After the national election on 12 February this year, the opposition leader said a great opportunity again has come and people voted for the ruling BNP with the hope that all the necessary reforms which had been decided by the interim government would be fulfilled.

To bring necessary reform, Shafiqur Rahman said around 68% people have voted “yes” in the referendum. If the government implements the reform recommended by the consensus commission, a major change will come in the country as the reform will help to prevent the return of the fascist regime.

Shafiqur said the parliamentary election and referendum were held simultaneously, but the verdict of the referendum has yet to be implemented.

He claimed that 68.2% of voters voted "Yes" in the referendum and said the prime minister had also supported a "Yes" vote during the election campaign.

"Reforms should be completed as we all agreed that fascist rule cannot return to our country. I think time has not yet run out," he said.

He urged the government to respect the people's verdict and implement their aspirations.

To bring a visible change in the country, Shafiqur Rahman also called on the government to take visible initiatives to eradicate drugs and illegal arms from the country, saying these are serious concerns for the entire nation.

Shafiqur said Bangladesh wants a sincere relationship with its neighbour, but such a relationship requires goodwill from both sides.

"If we truly want to be sincere neighbours, both sides must express their goodwill," he said,

adding that the people of Bangladesh no longer want to see bodies like Felani's lying on the barbed-wire fence at the border and they do not want to see Bangladeshi citizens being indiscriminately picked up and killed on the border.

He said Bangladesh could no longer tolerate the suffering of people in northern Bangladesh over the unresolved Teesta water-sharing issue.

The opposition leader urged the government to pursue a strong and independent foreign policy in dealing with the issues, including the renewal of water-sharing treaties with neighbouring countries.

The opposition leader said people should be evaluated and appointed to appropriate positions based on merit, skills, commitment and integrity.

He said the government had also announced that a merit-based society would be built, but such a society was not visible in many areas.

Talking about corruption, Shafiqur said corruption had spread throughout society and warned that no development plan would succeed unless it was brought under control.

"If we cannot rein it in, no matter how many plans we make, none of us will ultimately see success," he said.

Raising contemporary issues like fuel and fertilizer crisis in the country, Shafiqur said the industrial and agricultural sectors were facing threats due to the power and fertilizer crisis, creating concern among the people.

He urged the government to prioritise measures to save industries and agriculture, even if additional funds had to be allocated by cutting expenditure elsewhere.