Prime Minister's Power, Energy and Mineral Resources advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury on Saturday said everyone should remain alert against conspiracies hatching by those who opposed the great Liberation War and were involved in the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
"Assassinating Bangabandhu was an attempt to resist the country's progress. We have to be careful against them and deal with them patiently as they are hatching conspiracies now to stop the ongoing progress of the country, led by Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina," he said.
Tawfiq was addressing a discussion organised by Bangladesh-India Friendship Society marking the Homecoming Day of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Sufia Kamal auditorium of National Museum in the capital.
War wounded Freedom Fighter Md Rashidul Islam presided over the discussion while former ambassador Waliur Rahman addressed as special guest.
Taufiq said Bangabandhu had struggled for two decades to make the country independent while Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh has been struggling for another two decades to bring the country from darkness to prosperity.
"The new generation will be able to learn two things -- love for people and conviction of a struggling life with a sacrificing mind,” he said adding, "Those things are the suffixes of the two human beings. If we follow them, Bangladesh will proceed further."
Talking about the friendship of Bangladesh and India, he said, "The friendship of Bangladesh with India has a soul tie. During a number of transitional and critical periods of the country, India keeps the friendship effective by helping us in a number of ways."
Indian High Commissioner Vikram Kumar Doraiswami said former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee was the local guardian of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana during the six years when they were in India.
It formed a bond between them that remained an important part of the friendship between two countries, he said, adding, "Though Pranab Mukherjee who spends a lot of times caring with the future of India-Bangladesh friendship is no more with us, his love and affection remained till his last breath."
Moitri Somiti (Friendship society) is a tribute to his work and to the tens of thousands of freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives on both sides for the friendship and prosperity of the whole reason, he further said.
He said, "Prosperity in our sub-region has come because of peace and cooperation between India and Bangladesh, the two biggest nations in the eastern part of the sub-continent as sub-regional cooperation means prosperity and progress for all."
Talking about the spirit of liberation war, he said, it was a remarkable moment in the entire sub continent's history when the people of Bangladesh stood up and sought to create something better under the spirit of Liberation War.
Bangladesh has a bright future because it is a nation based on the idea of all Bangladeshis being one nation under one spirit, he said, adding, "Nations are made of an idea for which everybody can be united. Otherwise, there is nothing to distinguish one country from another."
However, I think, unfortunately, those who opposed the great Liberation War and those who prevented the creation of this kind of a country remain active even today. So, it is important that a society (BIFS) like yours should continue to function in support of the original idea (spirit of Liberation War) of 1971.
The society must need and do its work even more frequently as the new generation also must know where Bangladesh comes from and why it's important to depend on that idea.
Under the wise leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi boundary issue and maritime boundary issue have been resolved while the bilateral trade between the two countries are all time high, he said, adding, "We have Bangladesh as the largest development partner."
Bangladesh and India have cooperation in power and energy sector today, he added.
"To those of you who will hear the story that there are complications between India and Bangladesh, of course, never have, literally issues to sort out but there are no fundamental differences between India and Bangladesh," he added.
"We understand this from our Prime Minister's speech 'Strong, prosperous progress of Bangladesh is in Indian fundamental national interests', he said, adding, "We have been asked to be with you (Bangladesh) and working to ensure that this happens."
Prime Minister's former Media Advisor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, General Secretary of BIFS Narayon Saha Moni and Publicity Secretary Saifullah Al Mamun, among others, were also present on the occasion.
