Staff Reporter :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday urged the public university teachers not to hamper students’ academic activities by enforcing any strike in their universities.
“I would like to tell you (teachers) that there is no reason to be unhappy or boycott classes after a salary hike by 123 per cent. Teachers should not continue movement hampering academic activities,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina, also the President of ruling Awami League, was addressing a mammoth rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in the city to mark the historic Homecoming Day of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The Homecoming Day of Bangabandhu was on January 10 but the party a few days ago decided to hold the rally one day later due to the Biswa Ijtema.
Sheikh Hasina said that her government would look into the matter relating to teachers’ pay scale issue.
“I can’t understand why your (teachers) are protesting. If you (teachers) continue protests against the new pay scale boycotting classes, students will not accept you,” the Prime Minister said.
Termed late Ziaur Rahman as illegal President as well as his party BNP, she said, “Violating rules and regulations Ziaur Rahman declared himself as the President of Bangladesh when he was the army chief. He (Zia) was the illegal President of Bangladesh. And his founded political party BNP is also illegal.”
Sheikh Hasina said using Pakistan passport Ziaur Rahman had brought Ghulam Azam back to the country and his wife (Khaleda Zia) created opportunity for him (Ghulam Azam) to doing politics in Bangladesh.
“Khaleda politically rehabilitated those who were against the country’s independence,” she said.
She also heavily came down on Khaleda Zia for raising question about the death toll of martyrs in 1971 Liberation War.
“As Khaleda Zia loves Pakistan she speaks imbued with the spirit and the tune of the then occupation forces. Pakistan is in her (Khaleda’s) heart. That’s why she can’t forget them,” she said. Over the recent protests by students and teachers against Metro Rail route through Dhaka University campus, Hasina said the route has been chosen for the benefit of students.
Referring to the war criminals, she said a section is out to obstruct their trial but no conspiracy can thwart the process.
Earlier, the ruling Awami League’s central leaders delivered their speeches at the rally with Hasina in the chair.
Awami League presidium members Health Minister Mohammad Nasim, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, AL Advisory Council member Suranjit Sengupta and Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu also addressed the rally. Thousands of people, party leaders, activists and supporters thronged the rally venue since morning, causing huge traffic congestions in the city streets.
On January 10 in 1972, Bangabandhu, the undisputed leader of the nation and supreme commander of the country’s Liberation War, returned to the soil of independent Bangladesh via London and New Delhi from his captivity in Pakistan.
UNB adds: The Prime Minister recalled that that there was railway station in Phulbaria when the Dhaka University was set up while such tracks and stations are also there at the Bangladesh Agriculture University in Mymensingh and Chittagong University. Mentioning that out of the killed 57 army officials in the BDR carnage, Hasina said some 33 army officials belonged to Awami League families while they were given postings just before her party assumed office.
About the 1/11 changeover, the Prime Minister alleged that state of emergency was declared in January 11, 2007 due to the misrule, corruption and terrorism unleashed by the BNP-Jamaat government.
