Mirza Abbas urges unity to build peaceful Bangladesh

“I have not received any complaints from the Christian community so far, but I will stand by them if needed in the future,” he said while meeting members of the Christian community at St Mary’s Cathedral in Kakrail, Dhaka, during a views-exchange meeting in the afternoon.

He mentioned that the cathedral and some religious institutions were not part of his constituency earlier, but were included in the recent boundary redrawing.

The BNP leader said that although the Christian community is relatively small, it has been living in peace and harmony in Bangladesh, maintaining good relations with all, reports UNB. 

He thanked the community leaders for their role in fostering peaceful coexistence.

“No one is a minority or a majority in Bangladesh—we are all citizens with equal rights,” he said, adding that using the word ‘minority’ singles out a community unfairly and indirectly insults them.

Mirza Abbas also said Islam teaches that everyone has the right to their own religion and no religion should be interfered with, which is why people of different faiths live together peacefully in Bangladesh.

He pointed out that attempts by some groups to spread hatred are collectively resisted.

Addressing the Christian community, he said no vote should be considered insignificant and urged people of all faiths, including Hindus, Buddhists and Christians, to vote and encourage others to do so.

The BNP leader, who is contesting the Dhaka-8 constituency, said the election campaign period is very short.

“I have only 21 days to campaign, which is my first experience in political life,” he said, expressing hope of winning with the combined support of all communities in the constituency.