Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said, "The movement that took place in Bangladesh in July and August was entirely a movement of the people. The July movement succeeded because the people wanted change. When the people fully engaged in this movement, it achieved success."

The Prime Minister made these remarks on Tuesday (August 4) afternoon while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion titled "Seventeen Years of Relentless Struggle for Democracy and the Blood-Stained July Awakening" held at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the capital.

Emphasizing that the credit for the July mass uprising belongs to the people, he said, "From our position, we have clearly stated that the credit for the success of this July movement goes to the people of all strata of this country. This credit does not belong to any single individual or any single political party. Over the past 17 years, the people of this country, leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and several other pro-democracy political parties have all been on the field against fascism. We never left the field. We never left the people behind and abandoned the field."

Calling upon all political parties to unite in rebuilding the country, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, "Much has been said, movements have taken place, struggles have been discussed, and debates have occurred. Now is the time to rebuild the country. Now is the time to move the nation forward. Now is the time to remain patient, keep a cool head, and maintain a watchful eye on those who want to conspire. We must warn the people and, in the same way, gradually implement the plans we have presented to the people, what we want to do for them, and what we want to do to rebuild the country, thereby fulfilling the expectations of the people."

Bringing up the topic of reforms, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, "When we started talking about reforms, none of the other political parties in Bangladesh were talking about it. Our reform proposals progressively evolved into the 31-point framework. During the time of the previous fascist government, we saw that USD 16 billion was siphoned out of the country every year."

He further added that during the tenure of the fascist government, the banking, health, and agriculture sectors were completely destroyed. "We know that the public is enduring hardships amidst this devastated situation. We are trying our utmost to see how we can pull the people out of this crippled reality," he said.

Speaking on the health sector, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, "It is astonishing that even after all these years of independence, we have not been able to install kidney dialysis machines at the upazila level. You will be glad to know that within the next 3 to 6-to-6 months, dialysis machines with 50 beds in general/medical college hospitals at the district level where medical colleges exist, and 10 beds in general hospitals, will be installed, and dialysis with 10 beds will be operational at the upazila level within the next 2 to 3 years."

Acknowledging the reality of the ongoing electricity and gas crisis across the country, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, "We do not want to evade our responsibilities through excuses. We know problems exist. We want to identify those problems and make relentless efforts to solve them."

The Prime Minister stated, "The public is undoubtedly going through a difficult time. Based on our capacity, experience, and advice, we are trying our best to help the people get out of this situation."

The Head of Government said, "People are facing problems regarding electricity and gas. We know that people in various parts of the country are suffering. But it is also true that the fascist government treated this energy sector as a means to fill their own pockets. Naturally, after all these years of looting that devastated this sector, time is required to rebuild it."

Stating that communication is underway with various countries to tackle the gas crisis, Tarique Rahman said, "We have initiated the process of importing gas from Myanmar. Malaysia has also assured us of its cooperation in this regard."

Acknowledging that the government has to face grim realities upon assuming state responsibilities, the Prime Minister said, "Upon taking charge of running the state, we found a shattered economy, a shattered healthcare system, and a shattered administration. We found this division across various parts of the administration. Every single system of the state was found in a devastated condition."

Speaking on the 31-point agenda announced by the BNP, Tarique Rahman said that the people have given their verdict in favor of the BNP by supporting these 31 points in the election. Therefore, he believes that these 31 points no longer belong solely to the BNP, but are now the 31 points of the people. "We had stated in our 31 points that our primary goal is to establish the political and economic rights of the people. At the same time, we also stated that these 31 points are a blueprint for state reconstruction," he added.

Chaired by BNP Secretary General and Minister for Local Government Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the discussion meeting was also addressed by Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Jatiya Party (Zafar) Chairman Mostafa Jamal Haider, BJP Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho, Gano Forum's Subrata Chowdhury, Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Huq, State Minister for Planning Junaid Saki, State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare Nurul Haque Nur, NPP Chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad, Bhashani Jonoshokti Party Chairman Sheikh Rafiqul Islam Bablu, and State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque, among others.