Prothom Alo :
The BNP government has completed 100 days. The first 100 days are significant for any government because during this period the public gets an idea about the government's policies and intended direction. How much were you able to achieve in the first 100 days?
Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir: We do not view the first 100 days merely as a timeframe; it was the initial political and administrative test to resurrect the state from the ruins. When we took charge, the economy was suffering from long-lasting wounds inflicted by the previous fascist regime. People were crushed under high inflation; the banking sector was marred by looting, irregularities, and political loan defaults; the capital market investments of ordinary investors were nearly wiped out due to manipulation and lack of trust; and the market system was hostage to syndicates. It is easy to tell development stories while hiding this reality, but we did not choose that path. We told the truth to the people and started the reconstruction work based on that truth.
Our biggest achievement in these 100 days is to make clear to the nation the direction in which the government wants to proceed. We prioritised programmes that have a direct impact on people's lives. In this period, more than 53,000 families received family cards, over 20,000 families received farmer cards, more than 20 million children were given measles-rubella vaccines, work began on excavating 666 canals, internet connection was provided to 65,569 government primary schools, 5.5 million families were supplied rice at Tk 15 per kilogram, and foreign exchange reserves have been on the path to improvement. These may not be the ultimate solutions to all problems, but they demonstrate the government's intent to reach people's homes, fields, markets, and workplaces.
We do not claim that everything has changed in 100 days. But during this period, we have proved one thing—the direction of the state has shifted. We have begun the journey from an economy of looting to an economy of production, from a syndicate-controlled market to a competitive market, from a broken banking system to a well-governed financial sector, and from a politics of fear and intimidation to a citizen-centric administration.
