Prime minister Tarique Rahman on Saturday said that a political party was conspiring to obstruct the country’s development and attempting to create unrest.
Without mentioning any name, he alleged that the party had begun maintaining covert ties with Awami League, whom the people expelled from the country on August 5, 2024, just as it did in 1986 and in 1996.
Prime minister made the remarks in a public meeting after inaugurating the re-excavation of the Darirampur Dharar canal at Trishal in Mymensingh.
In a separate event on the day, Tarique Rahman pledged that the trial over the killing of schoolgirl Ramisa in Dhaka’s Mirpur area would be completed within a month, assuring that the perpetrators would receive the maximum punishment under the law.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of a three-day programme marking the 127th birth anniversary of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam at Nazrul Mancha in Trishal, Mymensingh, he said the highest penalty for the crime was capital punishment.
‘The government will not tolerate heinous crimes such as violence against children and women under any circumstances. The judicial process will be completed as quickly as possible and the killers of Ramisa will receive the highest punishment,’ he said.
Tarique said that the capital punishment would be ensured to deter similar crimes in future.
He termed the murder of Ramisa in Mirpur t as evidence of a severe erosion of moral and human values in society.
The prime minister also criticised the years of authoritarian Awami League rule, alleging that it had not only plundered the country’s wealth and people’s rights but had also weakened state institutions, including the judiciary, while undermining religious, social and cultural values.
‘To build a safe and humane state and society, we must establish the rule of law, change political culture and revive Bangladesh’s long-standing religious, social and cultural values,’ he said, adding that the life and works of Kazi Nazrul remained highly relevant in that regard.
At the event, Tarique Rahman announced that the period from May 25, 2026 to May 25, 2027 would be observed as Nazrul Year in honour of the poet’s 127th birth anniversary.
He said the government felt proud to organise the poet’s birth anniversary at the national level in Trishal for the first time in nearly two decades.
The prime minister said that Kazi Nazrul Islam was a revolutionary figure who brought a new dawn to Bengali literature and gave voice to freedom, resistance, equality and humanity through his poetry and songs.
‘This great poet remains a timeless symbol of Bangladesh’s cultural spirit,’ he said.
Earlier on the day, the prime minister inspected several electric vehicles manufactured by Bangladesh Auto Industries Limited on his Tejgaon office premises in the capital.
During the visit, he personally drove a sports utility vehicle and a covered van.
