Chief Whip of Parliament Nurul Islam Moni said that people of all religions enjoy equal rights under the Constitution of Bangladesh. He stressed that everyone’s rights, dignity and security must be ensured as citizens, regardless of their religious identity.

He made the remarks as the chief guest at an exchange of views on development and law and order with officials from various upazila-level government offices at the Betagi Upazila Parishad conference room on Sunday.

The chief whip said, “Religion is personal, but the state belongs to everyone.” He urged people to contribute collectively to nation-building while maintaining religious harmony. Protecting the rights and dignity of people of all faiths is the state’s responsibility, he said, adding that discrimination or neglect of any kind would be unacceptable.

Nurul Islam Moni said he wanted to develop Betagi into a model upazila. To achieve this, officials concerned must work responsibly to expand development activities across every union and ward, improve law and order, raise the standards of education and healthcare, and ease public suffering.

He said strict action must be taken against drugs, juvenile gangs, extortion, illegal occupation and online gambling. No criminal should be spared regardless of political affiliation, even if they are leaders or activists of the BNP. Legal action must also be taken against activities of banned organisations.

Directing officials to ensure transparency and accountability in development activities, he said, “If any official collects money or engages in irregularities using my name, inform me.”

He urged the officials concerned to work sincerely to implement development projects in every ward of every union. He also directed the authorities to issue a show-cause notice to the municipal engineer for being absent from the meeting.

The chief whip announced that Betagi Upazila Health Complex would be upgraded to a 100-bed facility. He added that tube wells would be supplied as needed to address water shortages in the upazila. Measures would also be taken to prevent dengue, including cleanliness drives, the destruction of mosquito breeding sites and the supply of dengue test kits.

To improve the quality of education, the chief whip said he would work to expand educational opportunities for students and establish a system of free education. He directed officials to review the quality of education at schools and madrasas with low pass rates in the SSC examinations, identify the problems and take necessary measures.

He also instructed the education officer to submit a report promptly after inspecting madrasas. He also announced awards for the three best-performing educational institutions in recognition of their efforts to improve educational standards.

The chief whip directed officials to ensure proper distribution of fertiliser to farmers through effective monitoring, adding that the officials concerned must remain vigilant to prevent irregularities by fertiliser dealers. Transparency must also be maintained in distributing agricultural and family cards to ensure that genuine beneficiaries receive the benefits.

Speaking about the power crisis, he said the sector’s difficulties stemmed from the large-scale embezzlement of public funds under the previous government in the name of quick-rental power plants, stressing the need for effective planning and practical measures to address the problems.

At the meeting, 37 people received financial assistance of BDT 10,000 each under social welfare programmes.

The chief whip also announced that three government officials would be rewarded from his own funds for their good work in the upazila over the coming year.