Alleging that Khaleda Zia has become a leader of militants and terrorists instead of a political party, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday warned that the government will do whatever is necessary for saving the lives and property of people as it will not tolerate violence.
“To save the lives of the people of Bangladesh, save their property and ensure their security, we’ll do whatever is necessary, no one will be allowed to stop us,” she told a mammoth public rally at the city’s historic Suhrawardy Udyan.
The ruling party organised the rally marking the Homecoming Day of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Hasina, also the President of Awami League, was the chief guest at the rally held with AL Presidium member and Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury in the chair.
Hasina, also the Awami League president, said the BNP chief unleashed a reign of terror on January 5 this year like what she did the previous year. “We’ll never, ever allow them to carry out any repression on people.”
The Prime Minister reiterated that it was a wrong political decision of Khaleda Zia not to participate in the January-5 election last year. “Why should the country’s people pay the price for that? That was your (Khaleda) wrong decision, you have to pay price for that, your party have to pay price for that…why are you torturing the people of the country?” Hasina questioned.
The Prime Minister said the government cannot allow the defeated forces-Albadr, Razakars, militants and terrorists-to play with the fate of people. “We can’t tolerate this,” she said.
Recalling the destructive politics of Khaleda Zia during the election period last year, Hasina said Khaleda Zia had failed to resist the election.
“This year a ghost descended on her shoulder again…she started her movement from January 5, she called a blockade. Who cares about her blockade,” she said.
The Prime Minister said nobody joined Khaleda’s blockade as in the past. “She (Khaleda) is carrying out her militant activities along with Jamaat,” Hasina told the rally.
Alleging that Khaleda Zia has become the leader of the militants and terrorists instead of a political party, Hasina said she is now killing people. Turning to BNP’s claim that Khaleda has been confined to her Gulshan office, the PM said: “Why will she be confined? No one will resist her when she’ll go back home!”
She also said Khaleda has no intention to go to back home. “She won’t go back home…she’ll wage a movement against the government to topple us. But, people don’t bother about her movement. She’s the queen of terrorism, militancy and corruption.”
Hasina said BNP is thinking that something will happen when people will get killed. “What will happen? In which dream have you (Khaleda) plunged? That’s my question,” the AL chief said.
Mentioning that Jamaat is a party of war criminals, the PM said when the government has put them under trial BNP is trying to save them by killing people taking Jamaat with her side enforcing a blockade programme. “We won’t tolerate this.”
Asking Khaleda Zia to stop such activities, Hasina warned that the consequences will be very bad once people turn angry because the people of Bangladesh want peace and move safely.
Reaffirming that the trial of war criminals will continue and no one will be able to stop that, Hasina said the January-5 election has been accepted globally although BNP and its allies are raising questions about it.
She said if this election is not accepted how Bangladeshi candidates win the elections to Commonwealth Parliamentary association and Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The Prime Minister also briefly described various development activities of her government and said the country will surely be in the middle-income country group by 2021 while in the developed group by 2041.
Awami League leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Matia Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Mohammad Nasim, Syed Ashraful Islam, Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, MA aziz, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and AFM Bahauddin Nasim also spoke at the rally.
