Social Welfare Minister and BNP standing committee member Professor Dr. A Z M Zahid Hossain said BNP and its activists would not allow any alleged plot to endanger Bangladesh by provoking people and opening the way for authoritarianism. He made the remarks on Wednesday at a discussion marking the sixth death anniversary of late Shafiul Bari Babu at the Muktijoddha Hall of the Diploma Engineers Institute in Kakrail, Dhaka. Lakshmipur-2 lawmaker Abul Khayer Bhuiyan chaired the event.

Zahid Hossain said freedom of speech does not mean unrestricted freedom, and that insulting, belittling or damaging another person’s dignity is not a lesson of democracy. He urged restraint in language and public statements, calling abusive and provocative political rhetoric unacceptable. He said BNP would respond on the streets, with the public, to what he described as attempts to rehabilitate authoritarianism.

He said BNP’s history was one of resistance to authoritarianism rather than compromise or retreat. He credited BNP leader Tarique Rahman with keeping people across the country united through organisational skill and leadership during 17 years abroad. Zahid Hossain said alleged conspiracies were defeated through the public verdict in the 2026 national election and urged party activists not to create opportunities for the party to be questioned.