Rebuilding the Fragile Economy Is the Government's Big Challenge, and Voters Will Judge Its Five Years of Work: Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni

Rebuilding the country's fragile economy is the biggest challenge before the current government, the National Parliament's Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni has said. The public will judge the government's work over its five-year term when they vote in the next election, he said, adding that if the government fails, the people themselves will answer through the ballot — so instead of trying to destabilise the government through frequent movements, critics should wait for the people's verdict.

He made the remarks on Wednesday as chief guest at the Zia Mancha Barishal divisional conference 2026, held at the Barishal Shilpakala Academy auditorium under the theme 'We will work, we will build the country, Bangladesh before all'. Leaders and activists of the BNP from the metropolis and various districts of Barishal division took part in the conference.

The Chief Whip said the current government's journey began amid a fragile economy and multiple crises. In this situation, he argued, the government must be given the chance to work rather than having reconstruction efforts obstructed. Programmes such as long marches, he said, cannot deliver effective solutions to the country's existing problems.

He said the BNP led the anti-fascist movement through 17 years of oppression and adversity. Despite the many crises, the current government is working to recover and rebuild the economy, he said, pointing to initiatives such as the Family Card and the Farmer Card as steps to improve the socio-economic condition of marginal communities.

Highlighting the contribution of martyred President Ziaur Rahman, Nurul Islam Moni said he fought for the country's independence from the front lines of the Liberation War and later carried the responsibility of running the state through the crisis-ridden period after independence. Drawing on the party's heritage and history, he presented the current government's work as part of that same continuum.

Referring to former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, the Chief Whip said she made an important contribution to the movement against autocracy and to the restoration of democracy. During the long 17 years of the anti-fascist movement, she had to endure imprisonment, oppression and persecution, he said.

Former lawmaker Bilkis Akhtar Jahan Shirin and lawmaker Md Rafiqul Islam Jamal addressed the conference as special guests. Zia Mancha general secretary Md Fayez Ullah Iqbal inaugurated the conference. At the event, chaired by Abu Taleb and conducted by Golam Faruk, the organisation's senior joint general secretary Engineer Jamal Hossain delivered an organisational speech.

The programme began with a recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by the national anthem and the party anthem. At this divisional conference, leaders also spoke about organisational activities and the tasks ahead, according to the organisers.

The central thrust of the Chief Whip's speech was a call to give the government time. His argument was that the results of a task as large as economic reconstruction take time to reach the people, and the judgement of that work should rest with the public through an election. Movement programmes that obstruct the process, he argued, will not solve the country's ongoing problems.

By citing initiatives such as the Family Card and the Farmer Card, he sought to convey that the government is trying to change the living standards of people at the margins. How far those initiatives deliver results on the ground will shape the public assessment in the days ahead — and that assessment, his remarks suggested, will play the decisive role in the next election.

The remarks come at a time when the government's economic management is under discussion in various quarters. The Chief Whip acknowledged directly that the government began its journey amid a fragile economy and crisis — rather than concealing the scale of the challenge, he put the demand for time and opportunity at the forefront.

Taken together, his message from the Barishal conference pointed in two directions: to the government's critics, a call to wait for the verdict of an election instead of agitation; and to his own party's leaders and activists, an urging to earn the people's trust through five years of work. In the end, he returned again and again to one point — that test of trust will take place at the ballot box.