UNB, New York :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said it was the Almighty Allah who helped the country by keeping a terrorist militant outfit and corrupt party like BNP away from power.
“It was Almighty Allah’s blessings that they (BNP) couldn’t return to power; Bangladesh was saved,” she told a grand civic reception organised by the Universal Civic Reception Committee at a hotel here on Saturday.
Committee convener Dr Siddiqur Rahman presided over the meeting, organised marking the 40th anniversary of Bangladesh’s entry to the United Nations. Hasina said, BNP now has realised that they have made a great mistake by boycotting the January-5 general election. “I don’t know what was in their mind, but now they’ve realised their mistake,” she said.
The Prime Minister said, the BNP leaders are now saying many things to justify their election boycott. “They’ll keep on saying all this because if a political leadership takes a wrong decision then that leadership has to pay a heavy price for that blunder.”
Talking about the war criminals’ trial, Hasina said that the government was pledged-bound to hold the trial. “The trial has begun…some of the verdicts have been executed. Those who were involved in crimes against humanity must face the trial,” she asserted. In this connection, Hasina said the vested quarters are trying to foil the trial through various means. “This trial can’t be resisted by enforcing one or two hartals…the people of the country won’t respond to that,” she said.
In an oblique reference, the Prime Minister criticised the US government as two of Awami League men were killed on the roads by miscreants in the USA.
She said, if one person is killed in a country like Bangladesh, the US turns very much vocal about it. “What’s the irony, we’ve got two of our activists killed on the roads here (USA),” she said.
Nazmul Islam, vice-president of US chapter of Awami League, was strangled to death in New York in July last. Referring to Nazmul, who left Bangladesh in 1981 and had been living in the USA since then, Hasina said she came to know about Nazmul when she first visited the USA. “Since then, he always remained beside me whenever I came to the USA,” she recalled.
“In a civilised country like America, Nazmul lost his life on the street,” Hasina said adding that this country always judges the human rights condition across the world.
She also mentioned another name, Belal, who was also killed by miscreants in Connecticut in 2012.
“I would like to ask the US government a question how a Bangalee killed on the road in a civilised country like the USA. How one lost his life so early. We demand the trial of the killing,” she said.
Meanwhile, on August 13 last, a Connecticut court convicted one person and sentenced him to 55 years in jail for killing Belal.
Responding to the demand of Bangladesh expatriates living in the USA for resumption of the Dhaka-New York Biman flights, the Prime Minister said the matter is pending due to some unresolved issues.
But, she said, her government is very much sincere about the demand. “We’ve already procured four new aircraft; another four aircraft in the pipeline. We had tried to resume the flights by taking aircraft on lease, but it couldn’t be done,” she said.
In this connection, the Prime Minister said Biman needs to be upgraded more to resume the flights.
Describing various achievements of her government, she said they have taken a plan to produce 24,000 MW of power by 2021.
PM’s son and her ICT adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy while talking at the programme said it is rare in the world that a country developed like so fast this way.
He also said no conspiracy will be able to remove the AL from its aim to develop the country.
Post and Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Food Minister Adv Qumrul Islam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, State Minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Polok and AL joint general secretary Dr Dipu Moni also spoke on the occasion.
