Tariq Rahman swears: India will be represented by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the swearing-in of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, scheduled for Tuesday, February 17.
Om Birla will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, news channel ANI reported citing sources.
“The Honorable Speaker’s participation in this important event underscores the deep and enduring friendship between the peoples of India and Bangladesh and reaffirms India’s unwavering commitment to the democratic values that unite our two nations,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement issued on Sunday, May 15.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other regional leaders to attend the swearing-in of the cabinet following the party’s landslide victory in the Bangladesh national elections.
Bangladesh election results
February 12, 2026 – Bangladesh’s parliamentary elections – marked a major political shift. It was the first election since the 2024 student uprising, which also saw former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ousted.
The Tariq Rahman-led party won an overwhelming majority in the 300-member parliament, securing more than 151 seats needed to form a government and making the BNP chief its prime ministerial candidate. The Islamist alliance Jamaat-e-Islami emerged as the main opposition.
After a landslide victory for the BNP, the 60-year-old BNP chairman is set to inherit a country struggling with high inflation, a weakening currency and youth unemployment at a staggering 14 percent, news agencies reported from the country in Dhaka.
Who is Tariq Rahman?
Tarique Rahman was born on November 20, 1965 in Dacca, East Pakistan, now Dhaka, Bangladesh – the scion of one of Bangladesh’s most prominent political families.
His mother Khaleda Zia was a two-time prime minister who died last year. His father, Ziaur Rahman, was a military officer who served as the President of Bangladesh.
In his first remarks after Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s resounding victory in the parliamentary elections, Tarique Rahman called for unity among all citizens.
“To ensure that no evil force can re-establish autocracy in the country, and to ensure that the nation does not become a vassal state, we must remain united and uphold the will of the people,” Rahman said at a press conference on Saturday 14th.
What other nations were invited?
Chief Advisor to Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has invited leaders of 13 countries, including China, India and Pakistan, to attend the cabinet swearing-in ceremony, Prothom Alo reported.
So far, the list of invited countries, according to diplomatic sources, includes China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan, a Bangladeshi media report said.