She announces 20pc DA for govt employees, slams Rampal plant critics
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday urged all to stay alert so that “unconstitutional forces”, do not come to power. Reiterating her opposition to holding the next general election under a caretaker government, she said, “We have to start it (holding polls under a partisan government) eventually, so that no one can play any games with the democratic process. “We will follow the example of other democracies in the world by holding the election as per the Constitution of our country,” she said while addressing the national convention of Professionsls Coordination Council.
Hasina also cautioned that terrorism, militancy and corruption would come back should BNP come to power. She expressed her firm belief that people would bring her party back to power as they are deadly against terrorism and militancy.
Disputing the claims of her political opponents, Hasina said all elections held in the last four-and-a-half years were peaceful, free and fair. “We strengthened the Election Commission to ensure neutral polls in the country,” she said.
She accused the opposition of carrying out a false propaganda about the five city corporation elections. “The opposition has alleged that we tried to rig the polls. If that is the case then how come the opposition-backed candidates won the polls,” she said.
The PM mentioned that the Election Commission has held 5,753 elections across the country so far. A total of 63,953 public representatives were elected. “All elections, including by-polls, local government and municipal polls, were conducted in a free fair and credible manner. No one can raise questions centring the polls held by the Election Commission,” she said, adding: “We did not interfere in any election. Then why should the next general election not be free and fair?”
She also said that in the history of Bangladesh, the only instance of peaceful handover of power was by Awami League in 2001.
Hasina alleged that women’s development would be hindered if BNP came to power. She said: “There is a conspiracy against women, who are a driving force behind the country’s economy; BNP will shut them inside houses implementing ‘Tentul Tattya’ after assuming power.”
Hasina’s comments came at a party meeting at her Ganobhaban residence. “If people want to see the continuation of development, execution of war crime verdicts and a Bangladesh free from corruption, poverty and terrorism, then they must vote us back to power,” she told grassroots party leaders.
The meeting was organised to select party candidates for the next general election. AL leaders from different municipalities and upazilas of Brahmanbaria, Jhalakathi, Meherpur, Madaripur, Narail and Joypurhat districts attended the meeting.
The AL president also urged her party leaders and workers to be united and to project the present government’s success to the people so that it gets “another chance to serve the people”.
Criticising BNP chief Khaleda Zia for celebrating her birthday on August 15, the PM alleged: “By celebrating her birthday on that fateful day, Khaleda Zia has made it clear that she does not want me in politics. Her party made several attempts to kill me, but failed to do so.”
Referring to Khaleda’s remarks that she wanted a Hasina-free Bangladesh, the PM said, “I know why she doesn’t want me alive. Otherwise, she would not be able to save war criminals.”
Hasina also alleged that the opposition leader, her son Tarique Rahman and members of the former BNP-Jamaat government had hatched a conspiracy to kill her by hurling grenades at a rally in Dhaka’s Bangabandhu area on August 21, 2004. She alleged that BNP-Jamaat had unleashed repression of AL leaders and activists during their tenure. “On the contrary, all our focus has been on the country’s development and not on suppressing the opposition,” she claimed.
About holding a dialogue with the opposition to resolve the prevailing political impasse, the PM said, “We invited BNP to sit down for a dialogue to resolve the political stalemate, but they issued a 48-hour ultimatum. Actually, they do not want talks.”
Hasina also alleged that the BNP-Jamaat-Shibir and Hefazat men had burnt hundreds of copies of the Quran on the night of May 5 and also set fire to Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. “How could someone claiming to serve Islam burn copies of the Quran and set fire to mosques?”
The PM claimed that it was only the AL government that served Islam. She recalled that Bangabandhu had established Islamic Foundation and Madrasa Board, banned gambling and liquor and many other things. “It’s our government that has made religious education compulsory,” she said. The Prime Minister also said, the government has decided to give 20 per cent dearness allowance to its employees soon.
“We will now go for creating a permanent pay commission so that there is no need for forming such a panel time and again,” the PM said.
Hasina, however, said that the maximum pay-hike for government officials and employees would be around Tk 6,000. Hasina added that her government had upgraded 35 posts from 26 cadres to Grade 1 as an attempt to “bring dynamism in the administration”.
She also urged professionals to make people aware of the development activities in Bangladesh under her government. She asked the professionals to work sincerely to turn Bangladesh into a modern nation imbibed with the spirit of the Liberation War. “We have to create a Bangladesh that is free from hunger, poverty and all sorts of fundamentalism and militancy,” she added.
The PM downplayed concerns over the power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat, saying that it would not harm the environment in any way. On Barapukuria power plant, which is also a coal-based project, she asked: “Did any damage take place there?”
Criticizing again the role of the anti-Rampal Coal-based power plant activists for raising their voice, the Prime Minister said that coal-based power plant is already there at Barapukuria in Dinajpur, but there is no acid rain or crop damage.
“For which motive are they raising their voice against Rampal Power Plant?” Hasina said adding that her government would not do anything harmful to the Sundarban as the mangrove forest was declared the world heritage in her previous term.
About the opposition leader’s threat to stop the work on Rampal coal-based power plant, Hasina said, “She (Khaleda) could do such thing as she in her term drastically reduced the country’s power generation through shutting down power plants we had set up.” The Prime Minister also informed that the government is moving ahead with the plan of generating 6,600 MW coal-fired power generation and requested the anti-Rampal activists to visit the site of Barapukuria coal-based power plant in Dinajpur.
The PM said her government has taken initiatives to build 13 coal-fired plants to tackle Bangladesh’s power crisis. Two more 1,320 MW coal-based power plants would be set up in Maheshkhali and Chittagong, she added.
The meeting was chaired by Professionals Coordination Council president Justice AFM Mezbahuddin. DU vice-chancellor Dr AAMS Arefeen Siddique, council secretary Prof Kamrul Hasan Khan and engineer Dr SM Nazrul Islam were among those who addressed the meeting.
Ministers, parliamentarians, senior government officials and a large number of doctors, engineers, journalist and lawyers from across the country attended the meeting. The professionals expressed their firm determination to carry out programmes to help the government to strengthen democracy and uphold democratic practices.
The participants demanded quick completion of the war crime trials and execution of the verdicts before December 16, 2013. They also urged the government to keep up the current pace of development, implement vision 2021, and protect the rights of professionals.
-With The Independent input
