BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has commented that the Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina's fear has not subsided even though a month has passed since the 12th parliamentary elections. He claimed that if resistance is built, it will not last for five years; without public support, this government may not survive even for five months.

In a video message on Wednesday, he said, 'Today is February 7th. A month has passed since the fascist Hasina's sham election. Sheikh Hasina's fear has not subsided even though she formed a puppet government at the mercy of other countries through fake polls. Fascist Hasina is afraid of losing power at any moment because the people have not backed down from the demand for her resignation. The democratic people have not left the streets. Instead, the nationwide black flag marches, including in the capital, despite police barriers, have proven that the democratic people will not leave the streets until final victory is achieved.

Tarique Rahman said that everyone in the country and abroad knows that the alleged dummy election of January 7th did not reflect the people's wishes. Instead, it was a state fraud involving twelve crore voters in the name of elections, whose purpose was solely to renew the illegal power of the immoral and power-hungry Hasina. Similarly, the dummy elections of 2024 have been staged with dummy candidates, dummy parties, dummy voters, and dummy observers, just as the vote-robber Hasina formed illegal governments in 2014 and 2018 by depriving the people of their right to vote.

Tarique Rahman asserted that less than 5 per cent of voters participated in the 12th parliamentary elections on January 7th. He emphasised that the decision made by 63 pro-democracy political parties, including the BNP, to boycott the election was entirely justified and reasonable. According to him, the opposition parties' choice to boycott the election received widespread support, as evidenced by the rejection of the dummy election ballot and the circulation of leaflets calling for the boycott.

Rahman further highlighted that the people's support for the boycott programme aligned the BNP's stance and actions with the populace's aspirations. He underscored the spontaneous backing of the pro-democracy movement against the fraudulent election, particularly in collaboration with the BNP, as a testament to the success of the party's political strategy. Rahman regarded this development as a significant stride towards the ultimate triumph of the ongoing democratic movement.

The top leader of BNP emphasised that the defeat of the Awami League and the victory of BNP is evident to the people based on political considerations observed on January 7th. He highlighted the significant role of the BNP as the most popular and widely supported political party in the country, offering a solution to the prevailing challenges. The democratic people of the nation are eagerly anticipating the ultimate victory, placing their trust in the leadership of pro-democracy political parties. As a party, he stressed, they are committed to fulfilling the people's expectations.

In his address to BNP leaders and workers at all levels, he underscored the success criteria of a democratic political party, including people's support, formation of public opinion, organisational structure, organisational strength, and the number of party members. He reiterated that BNP has consistently demonstrated success in these aspects. Despite facing numerous challenges, BNP rallies across the country's district and divisional levels have drawn massive crowds, with over ten lakh people attending each demonstration in Dhaka. Such an unprecedented and continuous flow of people in Bangladesh's history reflects the BNP's immense public engagement and organisational capacity. Consequently, supporters and activists of BNP nationwide believe that the spontaneous participation of people in every BNP program, despite obstacles posed by the state apparatus, underscores the party's deep-rooted public support and organisational strength.

Tarique Rahman questioned whether any other political party exists in contemporary world history like BNP, against which the ruling party has filed false political cases targeting over 500,000 leaders and activists. He questioned the crimes for which the force, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has allegedly killed about 3,000 BNP leaders and activists over the past 15 years, along with the enforced disappearance of over 700 individuals. Rahman also questioned the reasons behind the house arrest of the 'Mother of Democracy,' Begum Khaleda Zia, and the denial of advanced treatment to a former prime minister. He further queried the pattern of delivering formal judgments against BNP leaders and activists in staged cases or in absentia.

The BNP leader criticised the actions of Prime Minister Hasina, likening them to a Hitler-style drama staged on October 28th, which led to the arrest of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Mirza Abbas, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, and more than 27 thousand leaders and activists of various levels within the party. He questioned why they are still incarcerated and why at least 12 people have been killed in prison in the last two months solely because of their involvement in BNP's politics. Rahman asserted that the answers to these questions lie in BNP's courageous history of self-sacrifice as the country's largest and most popular political party, serving as the primary pro-democracy force. He emphasised that BNP's political interest lies in being a party of the people.

Rahman expressed the belief that despite facing numerous challenges, BNP cannot be eliminated from the hearts of the people through such extreme measures, including persecution, attacks, and torture. He noted that the people have not abandoned the BNP either, highlighting the party's mass involvement as the critical factor in defeating the Awami League. Rahman asserted that the ultimate victor in this struggle is BNP. He questioned the feasibility of suppressing a popular democratic opposition party like BNP through continued persecution, suggesting that the Awami League, driven by the desire for power, has lost its political integrity and has resorted to attacking all opposition parties and individuals with dissenting views, including BNP, using oppressive tactics.

Tarique Rahman asserted that the current government led by Hasina, whom he described as fascist, continues to fuel unchecked chaos and corruption in Bangladesh, reminiscent of the mismanagement seen since the country's independence. He cited a World Bank report comparing road construction costs, revealing that Bangladesh incurs the highest expenses globally, exemplifying the excessive spending across sectors. Rahman highlighted absurd projects such as the Matarbari coal power plant and the Payara seaport, labelled as the most expensive worldwide. He further criticised the nuclear power plant in Rooppur and the metro rail project in Bangladesh for their disproportionately high costs per kilometre and the excessive expense of the Airport-Gazipur Rapid Bus Transport project, deemed the most expensive Bus Rapid Transit line globally.

Rahman pointed out the staggering amount of money, exceeding 13 lakh crore taka, allegedly smuggled abroad over the last 15 years, with Hasina purportedly being the primary benefactor of this money laundering. He also accused her government of concealing the loss of Tk 810 crore from the Bangladesh Bank's reserve fund. Additionally, Rahman highlighted the widespread bankruptcy among banks in Bangladesh, attributing it to defaulted loans totalling over 1 lakh 56 thousand crore taka, with an even graver picture emerging from refinanced loans amounting to approximately 2 lakh 50 thousand crore taka. He criticised the government's mismanagement, citing severe liquidity crises leading to skyrocketing prices and inflation across all sectors, burdening citizens with escalating costs of essential goods.

Furthermore, Rahman lamented the soaring unemployment rate, exacerbated by an unrealistic and contentious education system that, he claimed, facilitates the exploitation of the job market by foreigners. He also decried the ailing healthcare sector, characterised by run-down hospitals and equipment that have led to widespread public distrust and necessitated medical treatment abroad for over 500,000 people.

In conclusion, Rahman warned of the imminent threat to the country's independence and sovereignty, citing porous borders and the government's apparent inability to protest against transgressions such as the recent arrests of Bangladeshi nationals by the BSF. He called for channelling the people's anger into a unified language of protest, suggesting that with collective action, the government, lacking public support, may not endure even for five months.