Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku accused the banned Awami League of being the only party that distorts history at a seminar in Bogura on Saturday morning. Speaking as chief guest at the Momin Convention Centre event organised by the Bogura History Practice and Research Welfare Association, he said the Hasina government had deprived the northern region of development. He also said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was working to pull the country out of a fragile economic situation left behind by the Awami League.

Tuku said the 1971 Liberation War began against inequality, but alleged that the Awami League created greater inequality after taking power. He said Jamaat could not win people over with what he called false promises of heaven, and that voters had brought the BNP to power. He said the government would pursue balanced development across the country, including in the lagging northern region.

The minister said 10,000 megawatts of electricity would be generated over the next five years to address power shortages, while work had begun to spread solar panels nationwide. State ministers Mir Shahe Alam and Md Abdul Bari also said the government was planning development to address the northern region's long-standing deprivation.