Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter on Wednesday said the message of constitutional reform outlined in the July National Charter can only be delivered through a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum, stressing that the ballot seal represents a responsibility to move the country forward.
She made the remarks as chief guest at a public awareness meeting held in the afternoon at a field beside the Bhuigarh Kazipara bus stand in Narayanganj Sadar.
The programme was organised by the Narayanganj District Administration and the Sadar Upazila Administration to promote the referendum and encourage voter participation.
Farida Akhter said the interim government’s role is to initiate and facilitate reforms, noting that many reform proposals agreed with political parties cannot be fully implemented without an elected government.
“Through this vote, the people are sending a clear message. Once political leaders are elected, it will be their responsibility to carry out the reforms on behalf of the people,” she said.
She said the people are the real drivers of the country’s future transformation and urged citizens to intensify awareness campaigns down to the union level.
“The responsibility of change entrusted to us by the younger generation must be restored through elections,” she said, calling on voters to cast a ‘yes’ vote.
The adviser also referred to a recent visit by the chief adviser and other advisers to the museum commemorating the July–August mass uprising, where the names and belongings of more than 4,000 victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are preserved.
“Signs of killings, including those at Shapla Chattar, are still visible. They remind us that fascism must never return,” she said.
Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mizanur Rahman Munshi, father of Narayanganj’s first martyr Md Adil of the 2024 mass uprising, spoke as a special guest.
The meeting was presided over by Narayanganj Deputy Commissioner Md Raihan Kabir.
After the discussion, Farida Akhter distributed leaflets in favour of the referendum.
Government officials, leaders of different political parties, representatives of various professions and journalists were also present.
