PM urges people
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday called upon the people to cast vote for Awami League in the next polls in the interest of the development of the country.
‘Make the Awami League victorious in the next elections as the country witnesses massive development and the people get something when the party assumes office. But when other parties go to power, they loot everything by depriving the people,’ she said.
Sheikh Hasina also sought doa and support of the people to keep the development ongoing to ensure a better life of the people. ‘I want your doa and support to complete the unfinished task to build a hunger and poverty-free Bangladesh,’ she said.
The prime minister said this while addressing a mammoth public rally on Pirganj Government High School ground in the afternoon.
The PM’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, textiles and jute minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, shipping minister Shajahan Khan, AL organizing secretary Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury and information and research secretary Afzal Hussain, lawmakers Fazley Rabbi Mian, Abdul Mannan and Abul Kalam Azad, and AL central leader Sujit Roy Nandi also spoke on the occasion.
Joy’s wife Kristine Overmire, state minister for home Shamsul Haque and lawmaker Sheikh Helal were present at the meeting chaired by Pirganj AL president Motaharul Islam Bablu.
Referring to the massive development of Pirganj upazila, the prime minister said her government has been working tirelessly for changing the lot of the people.
‘We are working not only for development of Pirganj, but also for uplift of entire Bangladesh,’ she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the fate of the people is changed when Awami League goes to power as the poor people get food and healthcare free of cost.
On the other hand, she said, when BNP comes to power Bangladesh turns into a country of terrorism, corruption, money laundering and fundamentalism. ‘The BNP is engaged in various misdeeds including killing, corruption and conspiracies when the party goes to power,’ she said.
The prime minister said Khaleda Zia herself whitened the black money and her two sons siphoned off hundreds of crores of taka during the rule of the BNP-Jamaat alliance government. ‘We have brought back that laundered money from abroad,’ she said.
She said Khaleda Zia’s sons looted Tk 980 crore from Sonali and Janata Banks in the name of Dandy Dyeing and Khamba Ltd as they only come to power for plundering. ‘They cannot give anything to the people, they can only take from the people,’ she said.
Sheikh Hasina urged the Awami League leaders and workers to stay alert to the conspiracy of a vested quarter that is spreading falsehood against the AL from mosques. ‘I would like to request the leaders and workers of Awami League, Juba League and Chhatra League as well as ulema-mashaekh so that the vested quarter cannot bring false allegation against Awami League,’ she said.
‘Those who spread falsehood sitting in the mosques cannot be true Muslims and those who spread falsehood are cheating in the name of Islam,’ she said.
Sheikh Hasina said after the terrible rampage of Jamaat-Shibir and Hefajat-e-Islam in Dhaka on May 5, a vested quarter by sending their people to mosques spread propaganda against the government that all imams and muazzins were killed.
‘I would like to ask them whether they believe in Islam, if so, they cannot do that as any Muslim cannot spread falsehood by standing in the mosques,’ she said.
She said prayers call take place regularly and people offer namaz including Tarabih undisturbed. ‘So there is no base of their false claims,’ she said.
Blasting the Hefajat-e-Islam rampage during their Dhaka siege programme, the prime minister asked whether any Muslim can set fire to mosques or burn the holy Quran.
Stressing the need for maintaining communal harmony, she said: ‘We want that the people of all faiths would perform their religious edicts freely by maintaining communal harmony.’
The prime minister also illustrated her government’s tremendous successes in the fields of agriculture, education, health, power, economy, ICT and social safety net.
‘We have fulfilled most of the pledges we made before the election and the rest will be implemented if we are voted to power again,’ she said.
About the development of Rangpur division, Sheikh Hasina said her government carried out massive uplift programmes in the last four and a half years. ‘We turned Rangpur district into a division, Rangpur poursabaha into a city corporation and set up Rokeya University,’ she said.
Sajeeb Wazed Joy called upon the people to cast vote for AL again to continue the trend of development.
Earlier, the prime minister inaugurated a number development projects including the newly-constructed Wazed Miah Bridge over the river Karatua at Kanchdahaghat.
The newly constructed 303.32-metre long and 10.25 metre wide Wajed Miah Bridge was built at a cost of Tk 21.14 crore.
Sheikh Hasina also opened Pirganj Duckbunglow Bhaban, Rangpur regional passport office, Officers’ Dormitory Building and the activities of Pirganj Pourasabha.
Besides, she laid the foundation stones of the Divisional Commissioner’s Complex Building, annex building of Rangpur Circuit House, Pirganj Upazila Complex and Marine Academy and Textiles Institute.
Courtesy of BSS
