Referring to elections held during the Awami League government’s tenure, Tarique Rahman said, “For 15 to 16 years we have seen how ballot boxes were stuffed in elections one after another, how fake and dummy elections were held, and how elections took place a the dead of night. Through these so-called elections, the people of Bangladesh were stripped of their voting rights and, in effect, their political rights.”
Tarique Rahman said, “We have seen how, over the past 15 to 16 years, the wealth of the country’s people has been plundered in the name of development and siphoned off abroad.”
The rally began at 10:50 am with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an. Organised by the Sylhet district and city BNP, along with the Sunamganj district BNP, the gathering saw Tarique Rahman take to the stage at 12:25 pm, where he spoke for about half an hour. The venue had already become packed with people before his arrival.
As soon as Tarique Rahman arrived at the rally, party activists filled the area with chants of “Dula Bhai, Dula Bhai (brother-in-law)” Upon stepping onto the stage, the BNP chairperson greeted the leaders and activists by waving to them. Earlier, he had held an exchange of views with around a hundred young students at the Grand Sylhet Hotel and Resort in the airport area on the outskirts of the city.