News Flash
DHAKA, Oct 11, 2025 (BSS)- BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury today said the people of the country haven't entrusted the responsibility of determining the nation's destiny to a few political parties.
He said, "The people of Bangladesh haven't given twenty or thirty political parties the mandate to sit down and determine the country's future. We do not have the right to make decisions about Bangladesh's next 20 or 50 years."
Khasru made the remarks as the chief guest at a seminar titled "Proportional Representation (PR) System: Elections and Critical Perspectives."
Cosmos Foundation and United News of Bangladesh (UNB) jointly organized the event at the Cosmos Centre in Mouchak of the city.
The senior BNP leader said, "No one has given us the responsibility of deciding what the future of Bangladesh will look like, how its democracy will be established, or what the democratic process will entail. Therefore, you and I must enter the democratic order, work within the democratic process and talk to the people about reforms."
Stressing the need to return to a democratic order through elections, Khasru said, "If we are to restore the democratic order and subsequently make changes, the first duty is to hold an election under the current constitution and restore the democratic order."
Addressing political parties that make statements like 'if our demands aren't met, this or that won't happen,' the BNP leader advised, "If you believe in democracy, you must proceed through public discourse and discussion; this is the democratic process and it is ongoing... Everything will be resolved through discussion and constructive criticism here."
Calling upon those who are demanding the PR system to include it in their manifestos and present it to the public, he said, "The people know nothing about PR. Therefore, it is the responsibility of those demanding PR to mention it in their electoral agenda, go to the people and implement it only after receiving the public's mandate."
Referring to the National Consensus Commission, Khasru added, "We must accept the points on which consensus has been reached so far in the Consensus Commission and move forward. Discussion will continue on the issues where consensus has not yet been achieved; subsequently, the party that forms the government will work on those issues with everyone."
Highlighting the need for a change in the country's political culture, he asserted, "We must change our political culture. We need to have tolerance for differing opinions. If our political culture doesn't change, if we can't increase our tolerance, and if we can't respect a differing view even while holding one of our own, democracy can never progress through confrontational politics."
In his speech as a special guest, other BNP Standing Committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan said, "If we act according to the whims of an individual or a specific group today, the situation becomes similar to the previous government. That fascist government did everything according to its own will."
He suggested that the demand for the PR system is being raised in the hope of gaining more seats, saying, "Some political parties are demanding PR because they hope to get a few more seats in the parliament."
He concluded by calling for unity, saying, "Let us unite and work towards establishing a stable democratic state system for the welfare of this country and its people."
Various leaders from different political parties participated in the seminar.
