Prime Minister Tarique Rahman opened the July Memorial in Dhaka on Monday and used the ceremony to warn opposition parties that helping to restore authoritarian rule would betray the people who died in the 2024 uprising and the 1971 Liberation War.

The 90-foot memorial at Osmani Udyan carries the names of 834 people killed in the July 2024 mass uprising, cut into the structure with lasers, with 20 symbolic grave markers in front. It was inaugurated in the presence of family members of four of the dead: Md Mokbul Hossain, father of Abu Sayed; Mostafizur Rahman, father of Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho; Sanjida Khan Dipti, mother of Shahriar Khan Anas; and Mohammad Shafiul Alam, father of Wasim Akram.

The prime minister also opened the renovated 23-acre Osmani Udyan, which now has about 3.1 kilometres of walking paths, a gymnasium, public toilets, parking and a rainwater harvesting system with a capacity of 50,000 litres.

In his speech, Tarique Rahman said opposition was legitimate but must not smooth the way for a return to one-party or authoritarian rule. "If, in opposing the government, you pave the way for authoritarianism, it will certainly not be good for the country," he said. "It would be a betrayal of the July martyrs and the freedom fighters of 1971."

He asked opposition parties to work with the government on issues that affect ordinary people, including employment, public safety, healthcare, education and national independence, while accepting that disagreements over constitutional amendments and reforms were normal in a democracy.

"Of course, you will oppose the government. But opposition must be constructive," he said. "If we remain stuck in the old culture of opposing just for the sake of opposition, how will we move the country forward?"

Tarique Rahman also noted that opposition leaders had been invited to the ceremony but stayed away. "You did not need to sit on this stage with the government," he said. "You could have maintained your distance from us; there is no problem with that. But if you truly uphold the spirit of July, you could have come and sat among the families of the July martyrs."

He said the 13th parliamentary election had given the BNP the responsibility to govern and other parties the role of opposition, and that both sides should recognise they represent the public. The government and opposition, he added, should be able to find common ground even when they disagree on reforms.