Desk News || Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said that every person in the country should enjoy equal rights and security based on citizenship, not religion or any other form of division. He said no community living in Bangladesh should need to be identified as a “minority.”“Our first identity should be that we are all Bangladeshis,” he said, adding that religious, social and ethnic identities should come afterward.He made the remarks on Friday while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the historic Janmashtami procession, held at the Dhakeshwari National Temple premises in the capital to mark the Central Janmashtami Festival 1433. The event was organized by the Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad.Expressing his commitment to building a non-communal Bangladesh, Salahuddin Ahmed said the principle of “Bangladesh first” should guide the state. Therefore, everyone should identify themselves as Bangladeshis first, while religious, social and ethnic identities should not become grounds for division.The home minister said attempts had previously been made to portray followers of Sanatan Dharma as the “vote bank” of a particular political party for political gain. However, he said, the conscious people of the country had rejected that misconception and artificial narrative.He further said that since the current government took office, the religious freedom and right to observe religious practices of people of all faiths had been ensured over the past six months.Referring to the people as the ultimate judges, Salahuddin Ahmed said they had already delivered their verdict and would continue to stand united to strengthen democracy and oppose all forms of evil forces and extremism.Highlighting the importance of the Constitution, he said the state is obligated to ensure every citizen’s religious freedom. In keeping with the spirit of the Constitution, no discrimination can be made on the basis of religion.The minister said the government had ensured the security and freedom of all places of worship and those responsible for them. He added that the government wanted to go beyond constitutional guarantees and establish equality and harmony in practice.Calling for a change in the use of language, he said the phrase “communal harmony” should be replaced with expressions emphasizing religious and social harmony, coexistence and peace. He said this positive practice would help make society better.The event was chaired by Gopal Chandra Debnath, president of the Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee. Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator and freedom fighter Md. Abdus Salam spoke as the inaugural guest.Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Ethnic Minority Affairs Bijon Kanti Sarker and Dhaka-7 lawmaker Hamidur Rahman also spoke as distinguished guests.Among others, speeches were delivered by Tapan Chandra Majumder, vice-chairman of the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust; Jayanta Kumar Kundu, joint organizing secretary of the BNP National Executive Committee for the Khulna Division; Basudev Dhar, president of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad; and its general secretary, Santosh Sharma.The event was moderated by Shubhashish Kumar Biswas (Sadhan), general secretary of the Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee.The procession was formally inaugurated by Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Md. Abdus Salam by lighting a ceremonial lamp. It later began at the Dhakeshwari National Temple premises near Palashi Mor and ended at Bahadur Park.