AL won’t allow martial law: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday warned that her party would never allow martial law to be enforced in the country to curb people’s rights again.
“We won’t allow martial law to stage a comeback …we won’t allow the rights of people to be curbed…we won’t allow martial law to come again,” she said while addressing the 41st founding anniversary of Bangladesh Awami Juba League at the city’s Suhrawardy Udyan.
Hasina asked the opposition leader to place her demand which ministries she wants to join the all-party government.
“If you want the Home Ministry we’ll give it, but please join the election and don’t try to resist it. Even if you try, you can’t resist it.”
Accusing the opposition leader of conducting destructive activities across the country being crazy for power, Hasina said, “Actually, she (Khaleda Zia) doesn’t want any election in the country.”
Hasina, also the President of ruling Awami League, wanted to know what the opposition leader had achieved by conducting destructive activities in the country.
“If you (Khaleda) want to stage agitations, you please come out on the field …we’ll face each other on the streets …we’ll see who holds how much power,” Hasina reiterated her call to Khaleda.
The prime minister sharply criticised the opposition leader’s stance to ‘hire hooligans’ for carrying out destructive activities in the country in the name of agitation programmes.
Reaffirming that the next general election would be free, fair and neutral, the premier requested the opposition party to join the polls.
Talking about her phone call to the opposition leader, the Prime Minister said she had showed her utmost modesty to the opposition leader despite Khaleda Zia’s aggressive attitude during the conversation.
Hasina said the opposition has lost its peace of mind seeing people living a peaceful life. “That’s why she (Khaleda) has engaged in the destructive activities, please keep your agony in your heart, don’t try to let it come out and cause sufferings to the common people. If people get angry someday she’ll (Khaleda) will feel the pain of fire.”
Criticising the ’eminent personalities’ who met the President seeking his role in resolving the current political impasse, Hasina said, “Some of them were advisers to caretaker government, but they failed to play their due role at that time. Why did they fail? The 1/11 came because of their failure,” she said.
Turning to the trial of war criminals, the AL chief said the opposition leader does not want the trial of the war criminals and questioned about her patriotism. “She was born in India, that’s why she doesn’t have any sympathy for the people of this country. I just wonder whether the opposition leader had wanted the independence of the country.”
She asked the Juba League leaders and activists to resist the destructive activities of the opposition party and to be on the side of the country’s ordinary people as the party wanted to continue the democratic process in the country to ensure its rapid development.
Chaired by Juba League chairman Omar Faruk Chowdhury, the programme was addressed, among others, by Land Minister Amir Hossain Amu, AL presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Juba League general secretary M Harunur Rashid. Earlier, the Prime Minister unveiled the cover of a book of compilations, ‘Struggle for Democracy’ featuring different parts of her life and works.
-With UNB/The Independent input
