Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today (15 July) said the government would not tolerate any form of extremism or militancy and announced plans to recruit 10,000 new police constables to further professionalise the country’s law enforcement agencies.
Delivering the closing speech of parliament’s second session and the first budget session, he also expressed confidence that the government would receive the opposition’s full support in combating extremism.
“We want to build a professional law enforcement force. As part of that effort, the government has planned to recruit 10,000 new police constables,” he said. “The government will not, under any circumstances, patronise extremism or militancy.”
Highlighting the need for political unity, Tarique said the ruling and opposition parties had disagreed on some issues in parliament while reaching consensus on others. “I firmly believe we will have the opposition’s full cooperation in ensuring that extremism and militancy have no place in Bangladesh,” he said.
The prime minister said the Bangladesh envisioned by the martyrs was founded on justice, equality and democratic values, where neither the rich nor the poor would face discrimination. “There will be no place for extremism or militancy in that Bangladesh, nor will anyone deprive people of their democratic rights in the name of the Liberation War,” he said, adding that fulfilling the aspirations of the martyrs was a responsibility of both the state and the government.
On the economy, Tarique said the government was working to shift Bangladesh from a debt-driven to an investment-led growth model. He alleged that around $16 billion had been siphoned out of the country annually under the previous government, harming the economy and infrastructure.
He said the government aims to take Bangladesh close to a $1 trillion economy by 2034 and plans to create jobs for 90 million people through sectors including information technology, the blue economy and ecotourism. Language and skills training programmes, along with modern career centres, are also being expanded.
To address climate change, the prime minister announced a plan to plant 250 million saplings over the next five years, averaging 50 million annually. The programme will create 10,000 nursery entrepreneurs and generate employment for around 250,000 young people. He noted that a nationwide programme to plant nearly 200,000 saplings was inaugurated on Wednesday.
Tarique also accused the previous government of widespread corruption in the power sector through quick rental power plants. He claimed at least Tk3 lakh crore had been siphoned abroad from the sector, while more than Tk1.3 lakh crore had been paid in capacity charges.
He said the government inherited fuel reserves sufficient for fewer than 30 days but had increased them to more than 45 days over the past three months through negotiations with different countries, with a target of raising reserves to 90 days.
Citing the poor condition of roads in Sylhet and other regions, the prime minister said road and highway development remained a priority to ease public suffering.
Paying tribute to those killed in the July mass uprising, Tarique said the BNP’s 31-point reform agenda, developed through public consultation, had become “a charter of liberation” for the people. He also pledged to implement every provision of the July Charter, signed by political parties, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to building a democratic welfare state free from discrimination, corruption and extremism.
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