BNP wants someone else to put it in power without polls: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said BNP wants someone to install it in power without elections.

“They don’t want elections. They rather want someone to take office ousting the government and then put them in power carrying them on Palki (palakquins). They expect it,” she told a huge public rally, her first in the port city in last 11 years.

The rally was organised by Chattogram City Unit Awami League at the Polo Ground in the port city.

Hasina, who is the president of ruling Awami League, delivered her speech from a 160-foot boat-shaped stage.

She said the opposition BNP has two virtues - one is rigging the vote and the other is killing the people. “They know it well that if the election is held, the people would not vote for the killers,” she said.

“They (BNP) don’t care about the people. When the Awami League comes to power, we work for the people,” she added.

Referring to the arson violence unleashed by BNP during 2013-2015, the PM said their leaders Khaleda Zia and Tarique Zia will one day have to answer to the people why they killed and burnt innocent citizens by restoring to arson violence. “The people will take account of it one day,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina questioned BNP’s choice of 10th December as the date for their final divisional rally.

She said the Pakistani occupation forces had started killing the intellectuals from December 10 in 1971. But unfortunately, this 10th December is the most favorite date for BNP. Since they perhaps were collaborators of the Pakistani occupation forces, they perhaps want to occupy Dhaka city on December 10 and oust the Awami League government, she added.

“They don’t want to go to power through vote. They think they would grab power like Ziaur Rahman did by killing the Father of the Nation, violating the constitution and the army rules. They don’t like democratic trends,” she said.

The prime minister said Bangladesh witnessed massive development and continues marching forward thanks to the continuation of democratic process.

She said Khaleda Zia was forced to step down in face of public movement in less than one and half months after she came to power through the 15th February voterless election in 1996. BNP leaders should keep it in mind, she said.

Pointing at Tarique Rahman, she said Ziaur Rahman had left behind a black sheep who is now staying in London. He fled the country in 2007, giving a bond to the caretaker government that he would not do politics anymore, she said.

“Now he is leading life like a king there but leads all sorts of bombings, killings and sabotages inside the country,” she added.

She said the BNP-Jamaat alliance had given nothing to the people except an insecure life by patronising terrorism and militancy in the country. “So, we’ve to save the country and its people from the hands of the killers and the grenade attackers,” she said.

“All will have to remain united so that the war criminals and the gang of killers would not play ducks and drakes with the fate of the people of Bangladesh, coming to power again. We’ll not let them play with the fate of the people of Bangladesh anymore,” she said.

Noting that Jamaat and BNP are the parties of killers, war criminals and patrons of the killers of the Father of the Nation, she asked to be united so that they won’t again suck the blood of the people.

“They (BNP-Jamaat) can damage, but we create. They can harm the masses, but we work for their welfare. The war criminals and killers are on their side, while the pro-liberation forces are on our side. This is the clear distinction between the politics of the Awami League and BNP,” she added.

At this stage Sheikh Hasina sought votes for the boat, the electoral symbol of her party Awami League, in the next general election.

When she asked them to promise to vote for the boat symbol, the crowds responded to it, raising their hands in the rally that turned into a human sea.

Noting that rumours are being spread over the reserves of foreign currencies and bank money, the PM asked the people not to be misled and pay heed to rumours without verifying these.

The money might be stolen if the money is kept in the houses after withdrawing it from the banks. “Is it the work of BNP, Jamaat-Shibir is to harm the people? Do they have an affinity with thieves as they create scopes for thieves?” she said.

She said they can’t create public opinion for them...can’t develop the country but are skilled in telling lies.

She said her government raised the forex reserves to US$ 48 billion during the Covid-19 period from only five billion in 2009. “We still have a reserve of US$ 34 billion,” said Sheikh Hasina.

She said there is no shortage of food as the government increased the food production significantly. “We’ll let the people suffer from food shortage,”

The PM, in her 50-minute speech, highlighted her government’s achievements and steps taken for the development of the country and the welfare of its people as well as for the development of the Chattogram region since 2009.

At the rally, the premier opened a total of 29 development projects and unveiled the foundation stones of six proposed development projects. The total cost of 35 projects is Tk 3,398.66 crore.

Of them, Tk 1,897.61 crore was spent to implement the 29 projects, while the estimated cost of six other projects is some Tk 1501.05 crore.