BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has pledged that the party will undertake comprehensive efforts to advance the agricultural sector if voted into power.

Speaking as the chief guest at a discussion event titled ‘Desh Gorar Porikalpona Shirsok’ (Plan for Nation-Building) on Monday (8 December), he said the BNP would revive the canal-digging programme originally introduced by the late President Ziaur Rahman.

Tarique Rahman said that if the public entrusted the BNP with governing the country in the upcoming election, the canal excavation initiative would once again be implemented. He noted that Ziaur Rahman had taken measures to ensure irrigation for farmlands and improve flood control through this programme.

He said the initiative to cultivate three crops in the same field each year had also been undertaken during that period, and that this plan has already been incorporated into the BNP’s future development framework.

Tarique Rahman also outlined several upcoming initiatives aimed at supporting expatriates and said the late President Ziaur Rahman had paved the way for Bangladeshi migrant workers to seek employment abroad and earn remittances. 

“We will work to protect the interests of expatriates and ensure the deployment of skilled manpower,” he said.

The BNP leader emphasised the importance of technological skills for young people. He said that increased proficiency in technology would allow the youth to earn more, while greater language skills would expand their employment and income opportunities. 

“We want to work on these areas. We have taken up various plans to improve people’s quality of life,” he added.