Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today, Monday called upon people of all faiths to work together, shoulder to shoulder, to build Bangladesh, saying that every citizen has equal rights in the country regardless of religious identity.
“This country belongs to you, and this country belongs to me. Let us all work together, shoulder to shoulder, to build the country,” he said while addressing the Hindu community people during a visit to Dhakeshwari National Temple in the capital on the occasion of Durga Puja this evening.
He was accompanied by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed and Social Welfare Minister Prof Abu Zafar Md. Zahid Hossain, said PM’s Assistant Press Secretary KM Nazmul Haque.
Stressing that the state belongs to everyone irrespective of religion, Tarique Rahman said people may practise different faiths, but all citizens enjoy equal rights and the state is responsible for ensuring their security.
“Religion may be different for you and me, but the state belongs to all of us. In Bangladesh, you have rights just as I do, and you have duties towards the country just as I do,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the state had a responsibility to ensure the security of every citizen, while people also had a shared responsibility to look after one another and work together to take the country forward.
“We are all children of this country and Bangladeshis. We are all human beings. This is our foremost identity. Everyone present here is a Bangladeshi,” he said.
Recalling the Liberation War of 1971, Tarique Rahman said people had fought for the country's independence without distinguishing between Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians.
“During the Liberation War, when people took to the battlefield to win the sun of freedom, we did not see who was Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian. We never asked such questions,” he said.
He said people from all faiths had also stood together in subsequent movements to restore democracy and voting rights, without asking about one another's religious identities.
The Prime Minister recalled the mass uprising of August 5, 2024, saying people from different religious communities had joined the movement to establish people's rights.
“It was not long ago. It has not even been two and a half years. On 5 August 2024, thousands and hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. Did any of us ask anyone which religion they belonged to?” he said.
Referring to the martyrs of the July uprising, he said people from Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian communities had sacrificed their lives for establishing people's rights.
The premier said he had earlier inaugurated the July Martyrs Memorial at Osmani Udyan in the capital today, where people from different religious communities were among those honoured.
Calling for collective efforts to bring about development and positive change in the country, Tarique Rahman said the benefits of progress would be shared by everyone.
“If this country changes and the lives of its people improve, you will benefit just as I will,” he said, adding that people should recognise one another as fellow human beings and citizens of Bangladesh.
Extending greetings to members of the Hindu community on Durga Puja, the Prime Minister described the occasion as a celebration of joy and a gathering that brings people together.