Demands to be fulfilled when Tarique Rahman becomes PM: Fakhrul to Matua Bahujan Samaj

The demands of the Matua Bahujan Samaj will only be fulfilled when Tarique Rahman becomes the prime minister, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said today (8 November).

"You must vote for the Dhaner Shish [sheaf of paddy]. Are you ready to make that commitment today? Will you promise to make my leader the prime minister? Then let's raise our voices together — 'Hindus and Muslims are brothers, vote for the sheaf of paddy.'" he said.

Fakhrul made the remarks while speaking at the Hindu Representatives Conference 2025 held at the Krishibid Institution auditorium in Dhaka. The event was organised by the Matua Bahujan Samaj Oikya Jote.

BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman virtually attended the conference as the chief guest, while leaders and activists of various Hindu organisations and temple management committees were also present.

The Matua Bahujan Samaj placed several demands at the event, including the implementation of the Vested Property Return Act, enactment of a Minority Protection Act, formation of a National Minority Commission, establishment of a Minority Affairs Ministry, enactment of a Deity Property Protection Act, formation of a Hindu Foundation in place of a trust, and ensuring proper representation of the minority community in the national parliament and all spheres of public life.

"We want to build a Bangladesh that is truly non-communal, progressive, democratic, and prosperous — leaving behind the bitterness and divisions of the past," Fakhrul said.

"Our party's founder, the proclaimer of independence and Bir Uttam Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, dreamed of such a Bangladesh and began working to build it," he added.