The state must ensure equal rights for citizens regardless of their religious identity, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said, stressing that Bangladesh belongs to everyone and that all citizens share the same identity as Bangladeshis.

He made the remarks on Tuesday (October 20) night while visiting the Durga Puja mandap at the historic JM Sen Hall in Chattogram and exchanging views with members of the Hindu community. The Chattogram Metropolitan unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad organised the event.

“This country belongs to everyone. People may be Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or Christians, but their common identity is that they are citizens of Bangladesh,” the prime minister said.

At the beginning of his speech, Tarique Rahman said he had visited Durga Puja mandaps in Rangpur in the morning and Rajshahi in the afternoon. He said he had delivered the same message at every location, adding that the issue was not about what was new or old, but about how people think, perceive and believe.

Recalling the Liberation War of 1971 and the July-August mass uprising of 2024, the prime minister said people had risked their lives to take part in the Liberation War. On the battlefield, no one considered whether a fellow fighter was Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian. The religious identities of those who sacrificed their lives were not the issue; the common goal was to liberate the country.

Referring to threats to democracy at different times after independence, Tarique Rahman said students and people had ousted an autocrat during the July-August uprising of 2024, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets.

“The bullets of the autocrat did not distinguish between Muslims, Hindus and Christians,” he said, adding that no one asked about the religious identities of those who were killed or injured. Their common objective was to build a peaceful Bangladesh free from discrimination.

Referring to his 17 years abroad for political reasons, the prime minister said he was a citizen of Bangladesh as a Muslim and that citizens of other religions had exactly the same rights in the country. Whatever the state provided to him, it must provide equally to citizens of other faiths, he said.

Tarique Rahman called on people of all religions, including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians, to work together to build the Bangladesh they aspire to see. He said the goal could not be achieved without everyone’s cooperation, regardless of political affiliation or religious belief.

Before the speech, leaders of the Puja Udjapan Parishad presented the prime minister with a commemorative gift. In their welcome address, the leaders sought his intervention in investigating and withdrawing cases filed against members of the Hindu community in connection with various incidents after August 5, 2024.

Earlier, the prime minister arrived at Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport at 7:40 pm on Tuesday. He proceeded directly to the JM Sen Hall Puja mandap, where organisers and representatives of the Hindu community welcomed him upon his arrival at 8:15 pm.

Among those present with the prime minister were Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Water Resources Minister Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee, Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury, Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Saching Pru, BNP Standing Committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, and BNP Acting Secretary General and the prime minister’s political adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Also present were State Minister for Local Government Mir Shah Alam, State Minister for Land and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin, the prime minister’s special assistant Bijon Kanti Sarkar, BNP Special Secretary Belayet Hossain Mridha, Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain, the prime minister’s Press Secretary Saleh Shibli, Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Rumon, and members of parliament from various constituencies in Chattogram.

The welcome address was delivered by Professor Arpan Kanti Banerjee, president of the Chattogram Metropolitan Puja Udjapan Parishad. Its general secretary, Advocate Nikhil Kumar Nath, moderated the event.