Desk Report:
In the first session of the 13th National Parliament, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said that he wants to make the National Parliament the center of all reasoning, reasoning and solving national problems.
He said this in his opening speech when the first session of the National Parliament began on Thursday (March 12, 2026) morning.
The Prime Minister said that through the tears of countless victims of the brutality of fascism and the sacrifice of thousands of lives, the journey of a truly representative and accountable National Parliament has begun again with the people’s vote.
He said that he is offering thanks to the Almighty Allah at this historic moment in the politics of the National Parliament of Bangladesh. With his infinite mercy, it has been possible to start a new journey towards establishing a just, democratic and humane Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister said that, as the 13th National Parliament begins its journey, she remembers with gratitude those who have died in the movement for the establishment of democracy and human rights, from the 1971 War of Independence to the struggle to protect the independence of the country and its people in 2024.
She also said that the nation will remember with gratitude the contributions of mothers who lost their children, children who lost their loved ones, families who lost their relatives, and injured people who lost their normal lives in these movements and struggles.
In her speech, the Prime Minister said that democracy has returned to the country due to the courageous role of the country’s students, farmers, workers, teachers, journalists, doctors, engineers, lawyers, and people from all walks of life, including those who lost everything due to torture, oppression, political harassment, or false cases.
She congratulated the freedom-loving, democratic, heroic students and people of the country on the journey of the 13th National Parliament.
The Prime Minister said that the national leader late Khaleda Zia established parliamentary democracy in the country to establish the rights of the people and gave it an institutional form. But later that democracy was turned into a farce and the National Parliament was turned into a laughing stock and tyrannical rule and exploitation was established in the country.
She said that Begum Khaleda Zia fought until the last day of her life to re-establish parliamentary democracy and the rights of the people and never compromised with dictatorship or fascism. But she could not see this moment of success of the country and the people. Standing in the National Parliament, she remembered the late Khaleda Zia with deep respect.
The Prime Minister also said that the advocate of multi-party democracy and the proclaimer of independence, martyr President Ziaur Rahman, had said – ‘If the people are the political party, then I am in that party’. That is, not the interests of the individual or the party, but the interests of the people are the greatest – this is the politics of BNP.
She said that for the first time, she has been elected as a member of the National Parliament and the leader of the parliamentary party from BNP. However, as the Prime Minister, she is representing the people of the entire country, regardless of party, opinion, religion or caste.
The Prime Minister said that the politics of BNP is the politics of improving the living standards of the people and building a self-reliant Bangladesh. It is possible to establish a prosperous, safe and democratic Bangladesh only by making every family self-reliant. In achieving this goal, she sought the cooperation of the people of the country and the elected members of all parties of the National Parliament.
She said that parties or opinions may differ, but there should be no conflict in establishing a Bangladesh that is free from oppression, free from fascism, independent, sovereign, safe and self-reliant.
The Prime Minister alleged that the previous government had made the Parliament ineffective by not making the National Parliament the center of national activities.
She said that although the former Speaker and Deputy Speaker were supposed to be present when the new Parliament started its journey, they could not be found due to the situation created due to the activities of the fallen government. Some are in prison, some are missing or some are absconding.
The Prime Minister said that after a long decade and a half of fascist rule, the activities of the National Parliament are starting in a special situation with representatives elected by the people.
In such a situation, following the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, she proposed the name of veteran politician and five-time elected MP Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain to preside over the session of the 13th National Parliament.
She said that such a situation is not unprecedented in the history of parliamentary procedures. In 1973, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman proposed the name of Maulana Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish, a member of that parliament, and the first session of the first parliament of Bangladesh began under his presidency.
