Prime Minister and Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Saturday, again urged leader of the opposition and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, Khaleda Zia, to sit for a dialogue, shunning the “path of conspiracy”, in order to resolve the country’s prevailing political standoff. “Our offer of a dialogue to the opposition still remains valid…you may avail it. Join the Parliament and participate in the talks, shunning the path of destructive activities,” Hasina said, in her opening remarks at a meeting with the grassroots leaders of the Manikganj district unit of her party, at her official residence Ganobhaban.
“Your (Khaleda’s) all efforts have already gone in vain. Your 48-hour ultimatum has also failed. So, you should give up all paths of conspiracy and sit for a dialogue, either in Parliament or outside Parliament,” she said.
The Prime Minister said there was no alternative but to hold a dialogue for resolving the country’s ongoing political impasse over holding the next general elections in a free, fair and credible manner.
The Premier also accused Khaleda Zia of hatching a conspiracy to oust an elected government, by using Hefazat-e-Islam to create anarchy in the city on May 5. But her evil design did not eventually succeed, she added.
Referring to the 48-hour ultimatum given by the opposition, the AL president said Khaleda Zia is now shattered and aggrieved, as her 48-hour ultimatum has failed. “I want to ask the Opposition leader—where has her 48-hour ultimatum gone? Please don’t issue such ultimatums…return to the path of democracy,”
she said.
Calling upon BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to refrain from enforcing hartals and to shun violent activities, the PM said the people of the country are already fed up with BNP-Jamaat’s mayhem. They do not want to see such destructive activities any more, she added.
The Premier said the Awami League has the ability and strength to reply to the anarchic conditions created by the BNP-Jamaat, but it does not wish to go into any confrontation as it exercises restraint and patience for the sake of the country and its people.
Mentioning that over 5,500 elections were held in a free, fair and credible manner after the present government assumed office, the Prime Minister said no one could raise any questions about the neutrality and impartiality of those polls. She added that the next general elections would also be free, fair and credible, as a strong Election Commission has been formed by a search committee.
Hasina said her government, through the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, has stopped the process of illegal grabbing of state power in unconstitutional ways to protect the country’s hard-earned democracy.
Recalling the atrocities on the minority communities and leaders and workers of the Awami League, after the 2001 general elections, Sheikh Hasina had said the country had turned into a haven of terrorists and militants during the previous BNP-Jamaat rule. “But, the country is now known to the world community as the role model of development, because the present government has been working relentlessly for the country’s development.”
Hasina said her government has brightened the country’s image abroad, by containing terrorism and militancy with an iron hand, and warned that there would be no room for terrorism, violence and militancy in the country.
She said the present government believes in the empowerment of the people, and will prevent the voting rights of the people from being squandered.
Regarding the development of the train communications system, the Premier said new compartments will be introduced. New tracks for the welfare of the poor and people of the low-income groups will also be introduced.
But, Sheikh Hasina observed, BNP and Jamaat Shibir activists were torching railway compartments and uprooting fishplates of railway tracks, under the pretext of enforcing hartals. “The main objective of the Awami League is to uphold the constitutional rights of the people, and ensure their happy and prosperous life.”
Laying emphasis on uninterrupted democracy, the Prime Minister said establishing the rule of law and the development of the country, as desired, are not possible, without democracy. AL presidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury and Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, joint general secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak, youth and sports secretary Dewan Shafiul Arefin Tutul and others, were present.
-With The Independent input
