In Sylhet, Expatriates Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed said that there is nothing different in the country for being a minority. He said that we are all Bangladeshis to each other. As citizens of an independent country, everyone has equal rights.
He said that Bangladesh is a shining example of communal harmony. People of all religions live here peacefully. Everyone has been celebrating their own religious rituals and festivals. The upcoming Durga Puja is also a great festival. We must maintain this beautiful relationship of communal harmony that has been going on for centuries at any cost.
On Saturday (October 14), the minister said this in his keynote speech at a meeting at the Gowainghat Upazila Council auditorium in his own constituency in the afternoon.
He exchanged greetings with the followers of the Hindu religion on the occasion of the upcoming Durga Puja, organized jointly by the Gowainghat Upazila Administration and the Puja Celebration Committee.
The event was chaired by Subash Chandra Pal Chana, president of the Gowainghat Upazila Puja Celebration Committee, and was directed by Nitya Nand Das, general secretary. Special guests at the event included Afiya Begum, acting chairman of Gowainghat Upazila Parishad, Tahmilur Rahman, Upazila Executive Officer, Mohiuddin Rahman, senior assistant police superintendent of the Circle, Mehedi Hasan, inspector (investigation), and district councilor Subas Das.
Greetings were delivered on behalf of various puja committees by Arun Chandra Das Apu, Bidhu Chandra Chand, and Anup Kanti Dey, joint general secretary of the Gowainghat Upazila Puja Celebration Committee.
At the event, the minister allocated Tk 5,000 from his own fund to each puja mandap. Earlier in the morning, Imran Ahmed inaugurated the newly constructed bridge over Tengra Khal on the road from Radhanagar Bazar to Uttar Islampur-Tripura Basti and Radhanagar Bazar-Baurbhag Haor.