Rajat Sharma’s Blog | Bangladesh: Tariq Rahman made a good start

Many major changes took place in Bangladesh. For the first time after 35 years, a man became Prime Minister. The second major change was that with the help of mobocracy, the work of Mohammad Yunus sitting on the chair was completed. Tariq Rehman foiled Mohammad Yunus’s move to change the Constitution. Tariq Rahman announced that no new constitution will be made in Bangladesh. Another new thing that happened was that Tariq Rehman gave place to a Hindu and a Buddhist leader in his cabinet. The new Prime Minister talked about ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’.

A major change in terms of politics was that Jamaat-e-Islami and Nationalist Citizens Party declared war against Tariq Rehman. Both these parties are fundamentalists. These two parties had driven away Sheikh Hasina from Dhaka by rioting on the streets. Both parties boycotted the oath ceremony on Tuesday.

Now the question is whether these parties will provoke the public again? Will Tariq Rehman be able to control these radicals? Will Bangladeshis be able to provide security to Hindus? What will be the impact of change of power in Bangladesh on India?

This is the first time after thirty-five years that a male has become the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. For thirty-five years, the command of Bangladesh has been in the hands of either Tariq Rahman’s mother Begum Khaleda Zia or Awami League’s Begum Sheikh Hasina. This time Awami League was not in the election fray, so BNP got more than two-thirds majority and Tariq Rehman became the Prime Minister.

As soon as he assumed office, the first thing Tariq Rehman did was to sideline the agenda of Muhammad Yunus. Announced that Bangladesh will run on the existing constitution only, no new constitution will be made. The second big thing is that Tariq Rehman has also made a Hindu and a Buddhist leader ministers in his cabinet.

Why did Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP boycott the swearing-in of Tariq Rehman? The reason for this is clear that both these parties want to make Bangladesh an Islamic nation. Mohammad Yunus wanted to change the constitution of Bangladesh. For this, a referendum was conducted along with the parliamentary elections. More than 68 percent people voted in favor of constitutional change. Therefore, the oath of the Constitutional Reform Council was also to be included in the oath that was to be administered to the MPs, but Tariq Rehman did not allow it. After this, BNP MPs refused to take the oath to change the Constitution. But Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP took the oath of the Constitutional Reform Council related to the referendum.

60 year old Tariq Rahman has become the youngest Prime Minister of Bangladesh. His mother Begum Khaleda Zia was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh three times. He died a few days ago. Tariq Rahman’s father Zia ur Rahman was the President of Bangladesh. Zia ur Rahman was also the Army Chief of Bangladesh. During the 1971 war, Zia Ur Rahman had announced the independence of Bangladesh from the Bangladesh Wireless Center in Chittagong.

Zia ur Rahman was assassinated in Chittagong itself in 1981. At that time Tariq Rehman was only 16 years old. Tariq Rehman is not new to politics. He became a member of BNP in 1988, becoming the party’s secretary in 2002. After this, when Sheikh Hasina’s government came, 84 cases were registered against Tariq Rehman. He was also punished in one case. Stayed in jail for 18 months. After getting bail, he went to London for treatment and stayed in London for 17 years.

Since Tariq Rehman’s mother Begum Khaleda Zia was ill in jail, Tariq Rehman stayed in London and handled the party’s work. Sheikh Hasina was overthrown in 2024. Mohammad Yunus became the head of the interim government of Bangladesh. He withdrew the cases against Tariq Rahman after which Tariq Rahman returned to Bangladesh in December last year. He took command of the party in the elections and registered a historic victory.

Tariq Rehman has no experience of running a government. Now his first challenge will be to control the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP. He will have to stop riots and anarchy in Bangladesh and along with improving relations with neighboring countries, he will also have to work on improving the economy of the country. (Rajat Sharma)

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