Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed on Saturday said his party’s primary goal is to establish the democratic rights of the people.

“BNP’s goal is to establish the democratic rights of the people. The state has been put on a path at the cost of much bloodshed. Now it needs to be given a constitutional and legal framework. The will of the people and the mass uprising of 2024 is to establish people's rights,” he said.

Salahuddin made the remarks as the chief guest at a roundtable discussion titled “Future of a Democratic Bangladesh: Thoughts and Expectations of the People.”

The event was organized by the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI), a non-profit, non-political research centre, at a hotel in Gulshan. Several political analysts participated in the discussion.

He stressed the importance of reforms for free and fair elections, saying, “Some reforms are necessary to hold free and fair elections, along with the goodwill of the political parties. The parties may have differences, but they must be tolerant of each other.”

Calling for unity among all political parties, Salahuddin said, “The anti-fascist national unity that was forged after the July uprising will be the sole political force of our state, and this force must be upheld. Even if we have ideological differences, political strategic differences, or election-related issue-based differences, we must maintain this anti-fascist national unity.”

He also said those pushing for immediate constitutional and other reforms may have different intentions.

MN/