BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has outlined a broad vision for a “transformed Bangladesh”, proposing Family Cards to consolidate state benefits alongside reforms in education, transport and urban management.
He made the remarks while speaking as chief guest at a meet-and-greet programme with winners of the national reel-making competition “Bangladesh in My Thoughts” (Amar Bhabnay Bangladesh) at Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park in Gulshan on Wednesday.
Rahman said a future BNP administration would bring existing government projects and welfare benefits under a single Family Card system to address what he described as fragmentation and poor coordination across programmes.
He said rising living costs could not be tackled without increasing production in line with population growth, adding that unethical profiteering by intermediaries must be stopped.
Rahman said weak communication infrastructure contributes to high commodity prices and argued for incentives for farmers to stabilise supply and prices.
“Whatever plan we make, we must ensure the security of everyone and prevent corruption,” he said, adding that resolving these core issues would ease many other problems.
On education and social values, he said physical infrastructure alone cannot address social decay and incidents of mob justice, stressing the need to develop qualified teachers and instil values from early childhood.
Rahman said education should be enjoyable and accessible to increase student engagement, proposing the integration of sports, arts and culture into the core curriculum, with students required to pass in sports as well.
He said a more holistic education system would also help reduce excessive internet dependence, adding that coordinated teams involving multiple ministries would work on the reforms.
Addressing Dhaka’s traffic congestion, Rahman said over-centralisation of jobs and services is the main cause and proposed developing satellite towns outside the capital with modern health and education facilities.
He described the existing metro rail as costly and space-intensive and suggested a monorail system with smaller carriages as a possible alternative or complement to better connect different parts of the city.
Rahman also spoke about migrant workers, saying many young people go abroad without adequate skills and outlining plans for vocational training to produce skilled workers.
He said incentives would be considered for expatriates who send remittances through official channels.
During a question-and-answer session, Rahman briefly spoke about missing his mother, adding that his exhaustion fades when he sees people continuing to support his cause late into the night.
