BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday suggested discontinuing the practice of using the word “honourable” as a label for certain office-bearers, like the prime minister or parliamentary speaker.
“I think the very seed of autocracy is sown in this particular word," he told the concluding ceremony of a debate competition at the Bangla Academy’s Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad Auditorium in the capital.
He made the suggestion referring to the use of the word at the beginning of a mock debate that marked the start of the concluding ceremony of the competition, titled “Civil Discourse National: 2025,” jointly staged by the Bangladesh Dialogue and the Dhaka College Debating Society.
“Can we not do away with the practice of using the word 'honourable' to address the prime minister or the speaker?"
The politician said that since its emergence, Bangladesh has unfortunately never seen the proper practice of democracy, “possibly because of the legacy of Pakistani politics.”
“For a very brief period, [proper] democracy was indeed in practice, but then we deviated from that course,” he said.
Fakhrul said democracy is meant to accommodate diversified opinions, debates and disagreements.
“I may not agree with someone, but I will give my life for his or her right to express their opinion. This is what we believe in. We believe in liberal democracy [and] this is what true democracy is,” he said.
The BNP secretary general added: “This is what we believe in. We believe in this liberal democracy. We believe that I must have the freedom to speak, and you must also have the freedom to speak.”
Fakhrul expressed his satisfaction with the activities of the youth, although many pessimists prefer to say nothing good will happen.
“Our young people have now gone much further than we. I have become very optimistic; many things will definitely happen. We will stand tall in Bangladesh,” he said.
