Staff Reporter:
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to building a prosperous, discrimination-free Bangladesh in which ethnic minority communities are treated as an integral part of the nation.
The prime minister, who is also chairman of the ruling BNP, made the remarks at a meeting with representatives of ethnic minority communities at the Bangladesh Secretariat, calling for national unity to overcome the country’s persistent challenges.
“The current fight is a significant one. If we want to survive in the current age and build a happy and prosperous Bangladesh in the future, we must remain united and move forward together,” he said.
Describing ethnic minorities as an integral part of the country, he said he was working to build a nation free of discrimination against any group, envisioning a Bangladesh in which no one is treated as separate.
“We are going through a dire situation. The fascist government has destroyed all the country’s institutions and its economy. Around $16 billion used to be siphoned off every year. Had this money not been laundered in this manner, many of your problems could have been resolved,” he said.
He said the entire burden of the previous administration had now fallen on his government, even as public expectations remained high.
“I still get stunned to see so many problems persisting in the country. Those should have been resolved over the past 17 years. We used to hear so many stories of development, but where are they really?” he asked, blaming the former Awami League government for wrecking every sector, including education and health.
The ethnic minority representatives raised several demands, including formation of a separate land commission to resolve ownership disputes in the plains, a national convention for ethnic and backward communities, clan-based identity in place of the term “ethnic minority,” constitutional recognition as indigenous peoples, legal establishment of land ownership, a central cultural centre, credit facilities for small traders, and an end to evictions carried out in the name of development projects or reserved forests. The prime minister listened attentively to their concerns.
“They have destroyed an entire generation,” he said, recalling that the Upazila Health Complex initiative began under Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, when 31-bed hospitals were first established.
“Whenever our government came to power, these hospitals were developed further. When Begum Khaleda Zia came to power, they were upgraded to 50 beds. Now we have decided to upgrade them to 101 beds,” he said, adding that the previous government’s union-level community health centres had by contrast remained largely non-functional.
He also spoke of raising health sector allocation in the 2026-27 budget and cutting duties on emergency medical equipment, including kidney dialysis kits and heart stents.
LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Ethnic Minority Affairs Bijon Kanti Sarker, lawmaker Anna Minj, cultural activist Sanjeeb Drong and representatives of 18 ethnic minority groups from 17 districts attended the meeting.
