BNP senior leader Salahuddin Ahmed has said that the people of Bangladesh will “politically reject” any attempt to delay or obstruct the upcoming national election, warning against forces he accused of trying to divide the nation along religious lines.
Speaking at Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka on Sunday, where he exchanged greetings with Hindu devotees celebrating Durga Puja, the BNP Standing Committee member issued a call for vigilance against conspiracies aimed at undermining communal harmony and national unity.
Rejecting religion-based politics
Salahuddin stressed that his party rejects any notion of dividing the nation based on religion. “We have never wanted to use religion as a political tool, nor do we want it now,” he told reporters and devotees. “We firmly oppose the politics of division based on religion.”
He emphasized that all citizens are equal under Bangladesh’s constitution. “In this country everyone is a citizen under the constitution, and no one is just a community,” he said.
Pointing toward members of the Hindu community, Salahuddin accused what he termed “fallen fascist forces” of exploiting them as a vote bank in the past. “We must all move away from that. In Bangladesh, none of us are a community. Each of us will practise our own religion freely. Whatever one’s religion may be, we will never identify ourselves as a community — we will identify ourselves as citizens.”
Guarding temples during Durga Puja
The BNP leader noted that the party has mobilized leaders and activists across the country to guard temples during the Durga Puja festival, aiming to ensure peace and protect communal harmony. He pledged that BNP would continue these efforts until the celebrations conclude.
“Various conspiracies are going on to destroy Bangladesh’s communal harmony, but we have never allowed them to succeed in the past, and they will not succeed in the future either,” he said.
Unity over division
Salahuddin warned that a section of political actors is attempting to divide the nation on religious lines, adding that such tactics must be exposed and resisted. “BNP’s policy is that religion is personal, but the state belongs to everyone,” he said. “Everyone has the right to security and the right to power, and we have to implement it.”
In framing BNP as a defender of secular national unity, Salahuddin sought to reinforce the party’s political positioning ahead of elections, in contrast with groups he alleged are attempting to manipulate communal identities for political advantage.
