Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Tuesday assured that his government will gradually implement all its election pledges ‘at any cost’ to change people’s fortunes and promote the development of the country. “We will fulfil the promises we have made to the people one by one. These are the commitments that will change the fate of people and transform the destiny of the country. We will try to implement them at any cost,” he said while addressing the formal launch of the Family Card Pilot Programme at T&T Playground in Banani in his constituency.
The Prime Minister described the day of launching the Family Card as an emotional one, as it allowed him to fulfil a promise he had made to the people before the election.
Tarique Rahman said his government understands that the people of the country have many expectations from the elected administration.
At the same time, he said, taking into account the realities and the current global situation--including circumstances in the Middle East--it might take longer in some cases to implement certain pledges.
The Prime Minister urged the people of the country to face the evolving situation following the Middle East crisis with patience and to build the country in a positive and constructive way.
“We will not move away in the slightest from the promises we have made. It may take a little more time in some cases to implement the pledges due to the current global situation,” he said.
Tarique Rahman expressed his firm belief that his government will gradually be able to deliver the Family Card to women heads of all four crore families in Bangladesh within the next five years.
He highlighted the importance of empowering women, saying, “Women make up half of Bangladesh’s population. We firmly believe that if we leave this half behind and fail to empower them—socially, educationally, and economically—the country cannot move forward.”
Recalling the efforts of previous BNP governments, Tarique said when former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia was in office, she ensured free education for women from school up to intermediate level across Bangladesh.
“We want now to economically empower this educated female population and build their financial stability. With this goal in mind, even before forming the government, we planned how to empower women and improve their economic wellbeing. As part of that plan, we have started the phased introduction of the Family Card across Bangladesh,” he said.
Tarique, also the Chairman of BNP, said his government wants to play a play responsible role. “We want to play the role of a responsible government— an administration that works for the people and for the country. We want to remain accountable to our people.”
He said his party BNP made a promise to the people of Bangladesh before the elections that if elected, they would launch the Family Card programme. “By Allah’s grace, with the support of the people, we began fulfilling this promise within less than a month of forming the government.”
Farmers’ Card to be distributed next month
In addition to the Family Card, the Prime Minister said his party made several other promises, including one priority commitment--the Farmers’ Card.
“Just as we were able to provide Family Cards to 37,000 women at today’s event, Inshallah, we will distribute Farmers’ Cards to our farmers next month,” he said.
Tarique reminded the audience that his party also promised the country’s farmers that, if elected, they would waive agricultural loans of up to Tk10,000, including interest.
“By Allah’s grace, loans of up to Tk10,000 were waived with interest last week. These are the promises we made to people — promises that will change their lives and the country’s future,” he said.
Earlier, he formally launched the government’s Family Card programme for women-led households, fulfilling his election pledge to support women’s empowerment, economic inclusion and social justice.
Just three weeks after the formation of government following a massive election victory, the Prime Minister launched the Family Card at T&T playground in Banani (adjacent to Korail slum) in his constituency.
Tarique Rahman first handed over a family card to Pervin Begum at around 11:19am. Later, 16 other women also received the cards from the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister formally launched the Family Card programme by pressing a button on a laptop at 11:30am, after which the selected recipients automatically received the money in their accounts.
The programme began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and readings from other religious scriptures at around 10:44am.
BNP’s theme song, “Prothom Bangladesh Amar, Shesh Bangladesh” (“My First Bangladesh, My Last Bangladesh”), was also played.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Farzana Sharmin, Dhaka North City Corporation Administrator Shafiqul Islam Milton, and Social Welfare Ministry Secretary Dr Mohammad Abu Yousuf spoke at the programme, with Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain in the chair.
Cabinet members, members of parliament, diplomats, senior civil and military officials, and other dignitaries were present at the function.
The Prime Minister, along with his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman, arrived at the venue earlier at 10:32am and spoke with several women who had come to receive family cards.
The program reflects the government’s pledge to advance national progress and fairness in society by strengthening women’s roles and formally acknowledging them as primary family representatives within social welfare initiatives.
In its pilot stage, the programme is being rolled out in 15 wards across 13 city corporations and unions spanning 13 districts across the country, according to the Social Welfare Ministry.
Under the pilot programme, each selected household will receive a monthly allowance of Tk 2,500 through the Government-to-Person (G2P) digital payment system directly to the women’s mobile wallets or bank accounts.