Leaders of several organisations representing the Hindu community met BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, son of the party’s chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, to express condolences over her death.
Leaders from the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, Metropolitan Sarbojonin Puja Committee, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, and the Dhakeshwari National Temple Management Committee visited Tarique Rahman at the BNP chairperson’s political office in Dhaka’s Gulshan on Saturday night.
During the meeting, they conveyed their condolences to Tarique Rahman over Khaleda Zia’s passing and signed the condolence book opened for her at the Gulshan office.
Tarique Rahman was accompanied by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the party’s Election Steering Committee member Bijon Kanti Sarkar.
In the meeting, they also discussed various issues faced by religious and ethnic minority communities.
Afterwards, BNP Media Cell Convener Moudud Hossain Alamgir Pavel told journalists that the Hindu community leaders expressed appreciation for Khaleda Zia’s steadfast position on Bangladeshi nationalism.
“They said Khaleda Zia strongly upheld justice for religious minorities and ensured their equal rights as true citizens of Bangladesh. They now expect our acting chairman Tarique Rahman to continue that legacy,” Pavel said.
He further noted that Tarique Rahman listened to the leaders and remarked that he does not wish to engage in divisions between minorities and majorities. “All citizens of Bangladesh will enjoy equal rights—that is what he believes. We all share one common identity: we are Bangladeshis.”
Tarique Rahman emphasised that Bangladesh must remain committed to this principle above all, and he stressed the importance of ensuring equal rights for everyone in the days ahead.
Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad President Basudev Dhar, General Secretary Santosh Sharma, Acting General Secretary of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council Monindra Kumar Nath, Presidium members Kajol Debnath and Subrata Chowdhury, Dhakeshwari National Temple Management Committee President Chitta Ranjan Majumder, General Secretary D.N. Chatterjee, and Metropolitan Sarbojonin Puja Committee General Secretary Tapas Chandra Pal were present at the meeting.
