Upcoming national election is sure to be free and fair: Salahuddin

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed on Thursday said the upcoming national election will be a decisive one for the country’s history.

“After 17 long years of democratic movement, struggle and sacrifice, the people will finally be able to exercise their right to vote freely in the forthcoming election,” he said while speaking at a roadside gathering as part of his election campaign in the Peku area in Cox’s Bazar.

“We shed blood for democracy and struggled for it. Insha’Allah, this time the people will vote in a free environment, and it will be a free, fair and globally recognised election,” he said, adding that through this election, citizens’ rights, human rights, constitutional rights and the democratic framework of the country will be restored.

Salahuddin Ahmed stated that the BNP had announced a 31-point reform plan in 2023 to repair the state structure and ensure democratic reforms. The main objective of this initiative is to ensure the economic emancipation, prosperity and democratic rights of the people, he added.

He said if the BNP is voted to power, a ‘farmer card’ will be introduced through which farmers can receive agricultural loans on easy terms and all agricultural inputs at fair prices.

‘Health card’ will be introduced to ensure essential healthcare services for every citizen, and ‘family card’ will be launched to provide a regular supply of rice, lentils and other essential commodities, Salahuddin said, adding that in the first phase, five to 10 million families will be included in this programme.

Referring to Begum Khaleda Zia’s ‘Food-for-Education’ programme, Salahuddin Ahmed said that providing employment for educated youth is one of the BNP’s main pledges.

He stated that if elected, the party will create employment for one crore youths within one to one and a half years.

He also highlighted the problems facing the salt industry in Pekua-Maheshkhali and criticised the government for giving permission for salt imports. It is harmful for the local salt farmers, he said, and assured that he would speak directly with the concerned authorities to stop this ‘unjust import’.

Later, he met with eight families affected by a fire at Rangiankhal on the eastern coast of Magnama and provided financial assistance to them.

Salahuddin Ahmed’s wife and former lawmaker Advocate Hasina Ahmed, Pekua upazila BNP president Bahadur Shah, its general secretary Iqbal Hossain, organisational secretary Mosleh Uddin, Jubo Dal convener Kamran Jadid Mukut, Swechchhasebak Dal convener Ehsan Ullah and Krishak Dal convener Abu Siddique Roni were present, among others, at that time.