Ahead of Durga Puja, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said his government was committed to protect the rights and security of every citizen, irrespective of their religious identity.
"Every person should be treated equally as citizens of Bangladesh rather than on the basis of their faith," Bangladesh's state-run News agency, Bangladesh Sangbad Sanstha (BSS), quoted Rahman as saying.
He made the comments during an interaction with members of the Hindu community from the Dhaka-17 constituency, which is represented by Rahman. The constituency includes high-profile areas of Dhaka city like Gulshan (including Gulshan Diplomatic Zone), Banani, Baridhara (Residential and Diplomatic Zone) and Dhaka Cantonment areas.
"Ensuring everyone's rights as a citizen, regardless of his/her religion, is my responsibility as the head of the government. I will try my best within my capacity to ensure everyone's security, not on the basis of religion, but as human beings," Rahman told Hindu community leaders in the meeting held at his office.
Last month, the Bangladeshi Prime Minister increased the government grant for Durga Puja to 5 crore Taka and extended the holiday for government employees to five days during the celebrations. The move is being seen as a major outreach to the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh.
Rahman said people of all faiths had fought together in Bangladesh's Liberation War and participated in democratic movements, including the mass uprising of 1990 and the movement of 2024.
"When we keep ourselves above religious identity during all critical moments in the national history, why should we consider it in other matters? We liberated the country together and took part together in the movement to establish democracy," he said.
Bangladesh's Ministry of Shipping has also issued a set of 16 directives to ensure safe waterway travel for passengers during Durga Puja.
The directives include keeping rescue vessels ready to respond to accidents, suspending the operation of unfit vessels, preventing overcharging of fares and banning speedboat operations at night.