By  A P Abritty

Dr Reza Kibria, the son of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria, has joined the BNP.

He made the decision official as he presented flowers to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the BNP Chairperson’s Office in Dhaka’s Gulshan on Monday morning.

In a brief speech welcoming his joining, the Fakhrul said: “Today, a very distinguished son of the country, who has worked in a very high position at the IMF (International Monetary Fund) due to his own qualifications and later, when he came to the country in 2018, ran under our paddy sheaf symboly with the nomination of our Jukto Front (electoral alliance) as a member of the Gono Forum.”

“Since then, you have seen that he has played an active role in politics and we are very happy and proud that Dr Reza Kibria has come to us today and joined our party. I welcome him to our party on behalf of my party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Acting Chairman Mr Tarique Rahman.”

In the 2018 election, Reza, an economist and former Gono Odhikar Parishad leader, contested the Habiganj-1 constituency (Bahubal-Nabinagar) under the paddy sheaf symbol.

The BNP secretary general expressed the hope that Reza will contribute to strengthening Tarique’s hand in rebuilding Bangladesh based on his past experience.

He then presented flowers to Reza on the occasion of his joining the party.

‘I AM PROUD TO JOIN THE BNP’

Reza said he was “honoured” to join the BNP, describing the party’s history as tied to the country’s democratic trajectory.

“The history of this party is the history of democracy. They have saved democracy from the fascist Awami League twice. Once, when Sheikh Mujib’s destroyed democracy… from there, martyred president Ziaur Rahman saved it. And the second time, Sheikh Hasina and General Ershad destroyed democracy again and our Begum Khaleda Zia – who is now very sick…everyone should pray for her – she saved it again.”

Calling this “a historic contribution”, he added that he was drawn to the party because of its record and because former president and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman was his “role model”.