Prime Minister Tarique Rahman began the first working day of the week with a light yet symbolic remark, saying “Let’s go to war” as he left his residence for office in the morning.
Opening the door of his residence in the capital’s Gulshan area around 8:42am and smiling at those present, the prime minister made the three-word remark before leaving for work.
The moment surprised some of the personal officials present at the time, including Prime Minister’s Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Ruman.
Later describing the incident, Ruman said those present initially took the remark literally but soon realised that the prime minister was referring to the challenges of governing the country, comparing the daily responsibilities of running the state to a “war”.
The prime minister left his residence shortly afterwards and reached his office at the Cabinet Division in the Bangladesh Secretariat around 9:30am.
According to the day’s schedule, he was set to hold meetings with Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon, Education Adviser Mahdi Amin, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun and several other officials.