(BSS) : Dr Mahdi Amin, Adviser of BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, today said BNP is committed to restore people’s power through required reforms.

He was speaking at a discussion titled “Reform and Reality: Bangladesh’s Changing Political Landscape” held at Hotel InterContinental in the capital.

The discussion was held on the occasion of two-day Bengal Delta Conference organized by Dhaka Institute of Research and Analytics (DIRA).

For the past 16 years, the autocratic regime perpetrated torture on BNP in the form of enforced disappearances, killings, and false cases, he said adding that the party will not let that political culture gain ground again in Bangladesh.

Mahdi Amin said, BNP is electing organizational leaders from district to upazila levels under democratic process.

BNP is nurturing multi-party democracy at all level of the party which is crucial for democratic practice, he said.

Mahdi Amin referred the vision which BNP announced in 2016 for reform. At that time, many political parties didn’t even talk about reform. But BNP consistently brought forward the issue keeping pace with the demand of time.

Mentioning that BNP’s 31-point reform proposal as a timely and relevant initiative, he said that many of the reform ideas brought forward by the interim government have similarity with the BNP’s 31 points reform agenda.

About the BNP government’s failures to implement the reform proposals after 1990 he said, Bangladesh must change. Previous political order will not come back again and if BNP gets the opportunity to form the government, it will return power to the people, he said.

He continued that BNP is not merely putting forward reform proposals but is already working on the paths and challenges of implementation.

Saying that difference of opinion will not foil the reforms Dr Mahdi said it also doesn’t mean that reform will happen if everyone agrees.

He said, BNP is a political party holding people of different views. Even amid difference of opinions, the reform will continue, which will move us to build a country as people aspire.

Professor Dr Asif Shahan of the Department of Development Studies at the University of Dhaka moderated the session where Dr David Jackman, Lecturer at the Department of Development Studies, University of Oxford, Tasnim Jara, Senior Joint Member Secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP) also took part in the discussion.