Rejects Khaleda’s poll-time govt proposal
Pime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday said that the nation made great strides in the past couple of decades but the Opposition Leader’s proposal regarding poll-time government will take the nation back to 1991. “This is 2013… we’re taking the country ahead with the help of people. We’ll make the country free from poverty and hunger by 2021. When we’re moving and looking ahead, she (Khaleda) wants to go back to 1991 and 1996,” she told a public meeting.
Reaffirming her stance to run the country as per the Constitution, the prime minister came down heavily on the opposition leader as Hasina rejected Khaleda’s offer to form an all-party election-time government.
“I offered to form an all-party government for the election period, but she (Khaleda) didn’t like it. She doesn’t want elected representatives, so she has gone back,” she said criticising Khaleda for her Monday’s proposal on bringing back the caretaker advisers of 1996 and 2001.
Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the ruling Awami League, was addressing a large public rally at Gor-e-Shahid Goramaidan in the district town, organised by the party district unit.
This was the Prime Minister’s first visit to Dinajpur after she assumed office in 2009.
Hasina said that people cast their votes in 2008 in favour of the AL-led grand alliance and the government then established parliamentary democracy in the spirit of the Liberation War. “Bangladesh will move ahead as a democratic country,” she asserted.
The Prime Minister said BNP always comes to power to destroy the country through corruption, militancy and terrorism. “But Awami League government never allowed corruption…we didn’t allow anyone to open ‘Hawa Bhaban’ to do tender manipulation business. We always spend public money on ensuring people’s welfare,” she said.
Turning to war crimes trial, Hasina said it was the election pledge of her party, and the people of the country cast their votes in favour of that pledge.
The premier said the opposition leader wanted to save the war criminals as her husband did, and mentioned that Bangabandhu in 1973 had started the trial of the war criminals, but Gen. Zia after grabbing power illegally stopped the trial process. “That was not the end; he had helped the war criminals establish in the country by rehabilitating them in politics,” she said.
Hasina also said the opposition leader has ‘some heartburn’ as her old companions like Nizami and Mujahid are now facing trial. “She had made those war criminals ministers, that’s why she is not feeling well,” the AL President said adding that the opposition leader often threatened to topple the elected government just to save the war criminals.
She sought cooperation from people to complete development works.
-With The Independent input
