Politics

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman asks critics to raise 2024 uprising doubts in parliament

At a Durga Puja pavilion in Rangpur, he said a group is trying to spread confusion while his government works to unite the country, and promised balanced development for every region.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 20 Oct 2026, 16:51

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman greets devotees at the Radha Govinda Dharmasabha Temple in Rangpur during Durga Puja on 20 October 2026. Photo: PMO via BSS PMO via BSS

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman used a Durga Puja visit in Rangpur on Tuesday to push back at critics of the 2024 student-led uprising, saying anyone with doubts should take them to parliament instead of stirring confusion outside it.

Speaking at the Dharmasabha Puja Mandap of the Radha Govinda Temple on Mahanabami, he said his government wanted to bring people together but that a group was trying to "spread different kinds of confusion".

He urged people who support democracy not to create controversy over the student uprising of 2024, and said elected representatives should settle their demands through debate and discussion in the House.

The prime minister said the government intends to serve everyone, including people who did not vote for the BNP, and promised development across all regions within the state's means. He also stressed education, healthcare and jobs as the priorities that would meet people's expectations.

Recalling the 1971 Liberation War and the 2024 protests, he said people had fought and marched without asking about one another's religion, and called on people of all faiths to work together for the country.

It was his first visit to Rangpur since taking office, the state news agency BSS reported. He was scheduled to visit puja pavilions in Rajshahi and Chattogram later in the day before returning to Dhaka at night.

The prime minister ended his speech by extending Durga Puja greetings to the Hindu community and urging people of every faith to live in peace.

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Ishraque Hossain, centre, then state minister for liberation war affairs, meets ministry officials at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka on 18 February 2026. He resigned from the post on 19 October 2026 and the President accepted it the next day. Press Information Department (PID), Government of Bangladesh

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Containers stacked at Shanghai's Yangshan deep-water port in 2013. China's September exports were lifted by demand for electronics and AI-related equipment. Bruno Corpet / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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