Jashore: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman today emphasized that politics should focus on improving people’s lives rather than assigning blame to others. He asserted that political efforts must transcend mere slogans and processions to genuinely enhance the welfare of the populace.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Tarique Rahman articulated these views while virtually addressing a ceremony for the handover of a newly built semi-pucca house to Afia, a child with albinism, and her mother Monira Khatun in Bazua Danga village of Jashore Sadar upazila. The event was attended by BNP central committee Vice Chairman Professor Nargis Begum, Khulna divisional organizing secretary Anindya Islam Amit, and other BNP leaders from the Jashore district and Manirampur upazila.
Afia’s birth with unusually fair skin led her father to divorce her mother and leave for abroad, leaving them in severe hardship. The situation garnered attention on social media, prompting Tarique Rahman, from London, to direct Anindya Islam Amit to aid the family. Consequently, a new home was constructed for them in their village.
In his address, Tarique Rahman outlined how the BNP aims to advance the nation if elected to power in the forthcoming general election. He detailed plans such as the introduction of family cards and farmer cards, improving rural healthcare, and providing honorariums for religious leaders across faiths.
He expressed the party’s intention to support struggling rural families like Afia’s if they secure governance, emphasizing projects like the farmer card to enhance agricultural prosperity. Rahman also indicated plans to resume the canal excavation programme initiated by Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman to boost agricultural output.
Discussing healthcare, Tarique Rahman highlighted the lack of basic services in rural areas and proposed recruiting 100,000 trained health workers to deliver healthcare to remote locations. He also emphasized the importance of empowering educated women, a focus of Begum Khaleda Zia’s previous government, to accelerate national progress.