A day after offering to form an all-party interim government to oversee the next general election, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday hoped that her party would be able to return to power with people’s mandate through the next election. “Inshallah, we’ll be able to form the government with people’s verdict in the next election,” she said. Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the ruling Awami League, was delivering her introductory speech at a views-exchange meeting at her official residence Ganobhaban with AL-backed upazila chairmen, vice-chairmen, pourashava chairmen and city corporations mayors came from different parts of the country.
Hasina said Awami League will be able to win the people’s mandate in the election as her government carried out massive development works across the country and thus won public trust and confidence.
Saying that the AL government put emphasis on strengthening the local government, Hasina sought suggestions from the elected local government representatives for including those in the AL’s election manifesto for the country’s rapid development. “You’re working at the grassroots level… you know what would be the key points for development, we want your suggestions so that we could incorporate those in our election manifesto,” she told her audience.
After assuming power, the Awami League chief said, the AL-led grand alliance government accepted all logical demands of local government bodies for their betterment.
About the future plan for further strengthening the local government, Hasina said if Awami League returns to power it would introduce the district budget. “In that budget, the priority projects will be included enabling local government representatives to prioritise their programmes for the welfare and development of their respective areas.”
In this connection, the Prime Minister said the government at the centre will just look after the implementation and budget allocation.
Mentioning the huge tasks of the local government representatives under the existing laws, Hasina requested them to go through the laws and the manuals to have a clear idea of their responsibilities. “Even there’s a scope to form standing committees in the local government bodies like the parliamentary ones,” she said.
The Awami League president also said her government from the very beginning started decentralising power. “We want to create such an atmosphere where people will get the maximum service from public representatives.”
She also said there is no justification to come to the Education Board in Dhaka to have a solution to a minor problem of an upazila-level primary school.
“If we’re voted to power, we’ll introduce that system so that such small things could be settled in one’s own area offices,” she said adding for that the continuation of the government is a must.
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Jute and Textiles Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, PM’s Adviser HT Imam, State Minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanak, AL MP Amir Hossain Amu and Rahmat Ullah were also present.
In her address to the nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday proposed forming an all-party election-time government to oversee the next general election.
-With The Independent input
