BNP Student Affairs Secretary Rakibul Islam Bokul addressed a views exchange meeting in Khulna. Photo: BSS

KHULNA, Sept 22, 2025 (BSS) - BNP Student Affairs Secretary Rakibul Islam Bokul has said Durga Puja is not merely a religious festival of the Hindu community but an integral part of Bangladesh's national cultural heritage.

He made the remarks while addressing a views exchange meeting with leaders of the Khulna Puja Celebration Committee and the Metropolitan Puja Celebration Front, held at a city hotel on Sunday.

"Durga Puja is a celebration that belongs to the entire nation," Bokul said. "It is woven into our cultural identity. The tendency to use the Sanatan (Hindu) community as political capital must come to an end."

He reiterated that the BNP does politics for the people, not for power, and that the party has always stood for the rights of all citizens, regardless of religion or background.

"From the very beginning, BNP has believed in a non-communal Bangladesh," he said, adding that Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman united people of all communities under the banner of Bangladeshi nationalism. 

"Tarique Rahman is moving forward with that same vision," he noted.

Bokul assured that even if BNP is not in state power, it will continue to stand beside the people. "If the people give us the mandate, we will build a modern, discrimination-free, and non-communal Bangladesh under the leadership of Tarique Rahman," he pledged.

"In that new Bangladesh, there will be no label of 'minority.' Everyone regardless of religion is Bangladeshi, and every citizen will enjoy equal rights, freedom, and security," he added.

The meeting was presided over by Khulna BNP President Advocate Shafiqul Alam Mona and conducted by General Secretary Shafiqul Alam Tuhin.

Other speakers included Shyamal Halder, President of the Metropolitan Puja Committee, Prashanta Kundu, General Secretary, Dr. Pradip Debnath, President of the Puja Celebration Front and BNP leaders Sheikh Sadi and Masud Parvez, along with several party activists.