The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has welcomed the speech given by its Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir termed the speech as strong and relevant, saying, "The speech was powerful. The Chief Adviser has repeatedly assured elections in recent times. We are confident that the elections will be held next February. The Chief Adviser clearly highlighted the government's reform agenda and the importance of national unity in his speech. "He rightly said, the reflection of the purpose for which our government was formed has been revealed in the speech."

The BNP Secretary General made the remarks while talking to reporters at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York after attending a session with the Chief Advisor. Welcoming the Chief Advisor's speech, he said that the speech reflected both the government's reform program and national unity.

Mirza Fakhrul said, 'The Chief Advisor in his speech undoubtedly spoke about the purpose on the basis of which their government was formed. Secondly, they took charge at a time when there was a vacuum in the country after the mass uprising. Political parties and students together gave them that responsibility.'

He also said that the government has tried to bring the country's economy and politics to a relatively good state within a year, from a dire state. These issues were also reflected in his speech.

The BNP Secretary General said Professor Yunus explained how his government has started working and has addressed long-standing demands for political reforms, along with reviving the economy.

He said, "We, on behalf of BNP, have been making such proposals for a long time. As you know, our leader Begum Khaleda Zia first presented Vision 2030 in 2016, where structural and political reforms were discussed. Besides, our leader Tarique Rahman announced a 31-point program in 2022, where the need for state structural reforms and economic reforms was highlighted."

Mirza Fakhrul said that the situation created by the Awami League made fundamental changes essential. He said, 'It would have been difficult to move the nation forward without changing the state structure on the one hand and reforming the economic structure on the other. This is what they have started. Today, just as he presented those issues before the nation, he has also raised them at the UN global forum.'

Praising the chief advisor's inclusive approach, the BNP secretary general said, "We are very happy that for the first time in history, he has included opposition political parties in the government's work and taken them with him to the United Nations. His main objective was to demonstrate the unity of the nation."

He further said, 'I think this is a unique initiative and very necessary in the context of Bangladesh. We have given full cooperation for this and our leader Tarique Rahman has also supported it.'

Clarifying BNP's position on the issue of proportional representation (PR) being carried out by Jamaat-e-Islami, Fakhrul said, "We have clearly stated that BNP is not in favor of PR in the lower house, and we have not even spoken in favor of it in the upper house." However, he said that such issues will be resolved through discussions at a later date.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP leader Humayun Kabir, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Jamaat leader Dr. Naqibur Rahman, National Citizens Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain and NCP's First Senior Joint Member Secretary Dr. Tasnim Zara were present during the speech of the Chief Advisor. Advisors of the interim government of Bangladesh were also present.

Earlier, on Friday night, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government, addressed the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He said, Bangladesh will never return to the path of dictatorship. The country's democracy will never be under threat again. The country's democracy and reform activities will move forward sustainably on the basis of a consensus formed regardless of party affiliation. No force can hinder the process of rebuilding a just state structure achieved through the sacrifices of the people.

Dr. Yunus said, Bangladesh was born in 1971 through a bloody struggle for equality, human dignity and social justice. But the rights we sacrificed to establish have been repeatedly thwarted in the last five decades. The people have had to make sacrifices time and again to re-establish those rights.

He reminded that this year marks the first anniversary of the 'July Mass Uprising', where the youth defeated tyranny. The Chief Advisor said that the uprising opened a new path to building a society free from discrimination and based on justice. And that responsibility has been handed over to us by the people.

On the challenge of rebuilding the collapsed state structure, Dr. Yunus said that while it is possible to implement reforms through executive orders, the government has chosen the difficult path - an inclusive and sustainable process. For this, 11 independent reform commissions were formed in nationally important sectors including the judiciary, governance, elections, public administration, law and order, anti-corruption and women's rights.

He said that the National Consensus Commission was formed with more than 30 political parties and alliances to build political consensus to implement the recommendations of these commissions. As a result, in July, all parties jointly made a time-bound commitment to reform through the 'July Declaration'.

The chief advisor said that as a result of this commitment, no matter which party wins the support of the people in the next election, there will be no uncertainty in the implementation of reforms. Bangladesh's democracy will never again be under threat.