Urging all to resist militants together, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday branded Khaleda Zia as ‘the leader of militants’ again and said she must face the punishment.
“We all who believe in the spirit of the Liberation War will have to stand against these militants putting in our united efforts…Khaleda Zia is the leader of militants… she must face the due punishment, Inshallah…there’ll be no place for that militant leader,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina, also the ruling Awami League President, was addressing a huge public rally, organised by the party, marking the historic March 7 at Suhrawardy Udyan in the city.
The Prime Minister said, Khaleda Zia’s dream of returning to power with the help of militants and terrorists will never come true. “The people of Bangladesh are now conscious now, they have woken up.”
Hasina said those who hurl bombs and grenades, those who carry out killings and those who are killing people through arson attacks are nothing but militants.
“The punishment that’s given globally to militants will be given to these militants also. There is no mercy to militants and terrorists. Bangladesh is not a country of militants,” she told the rally.
The Prime Minister said, there is something in Khaleda Zia’s mind that someone will come up to put her in power if she keeps on killing people through bombing and arson attacks, “but nobody is coming up”.
“She (Khaleda) also hopes that someone from abroad will put her in power, but they (foreigners) also made it clear that they won’t accept militancy in Bangladesh, they have said killings have to be stopped,” the Prime Minister added.
Mentioning that other than a few militants there is no one beside the BNP chief, Hasina said.
“Khaleda Zia not only facing corruption charges, she has also been included in killing cases as she is the order givers. Those who are playing with the blood of people will have to face punishment on the soil of this country,” she said adding that her government will not tolerate Khaleda as she is killing people and playing with their fate.
The Prime Minister said those who are hurling bombs all are of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, BNP, Jamaat-Shibir and Juba Dal. “People know them very well,” she added.
The ruling party chief came down heavily on a section of people for their attitude to overlook the evil deeds committed by Khaleda Zia and BNP-Jamaat.
“There’re some people who never see the evil deeds of the BNP-Jamaat and Khaleda Zia, they try to cover the evil deeds. Those who are trying to cover the evil deeds and try to give protection are guilty as well. They cannot escape the sin,” she said.
About Khaleda Zia’s stay in her office instead of her home, Hasina said she simply cannot understand the reason behind here stay there. “I don’t know what type of revolution she is carrying out. People did not accept here hartal and blockade programmes, people are not accepting the orders of the militant leader (Khaleda) and will never do either.”
The Prime Minister said 63 people have so far been killed, some 450 are now leading a miserable life, over a thousand have been injured and around 1500 vehicles have been killed during the blockade and hartal hours since January 5. “Why this destruction, for whose interest and for what,” she said.
In this connection, the Prime Minister said the defeated force of 1971 wanted to raise their heads on the land of Bangladesh again.
Hasina also said, Khaleda Zia did the same thing back in 2014 during the 10th general election. “The BNP leader did not join the election and that was her party’s decision, but why the people of the country will pay the price for their mistake. They had tried to resist the election, but failed as the people of the country largely participated in it,” she said.
AL Advisory Council members Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and Suranjit Sengupta, AL presidium members Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Health Minister Mohammad Nasim and Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, AL Dhaka City unit acting president MA Aziz and general secretary and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, AL joint general secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif, MP and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, MP, AL organizing secretary Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, MP, Awami Juba League general secretary Harunur Rashid, Mohila Awami League president Fazilatunnesa Musharraf, Bangladesh Krishak League general secretary adv Khondoker Shamsul Huq Reza, Jatiya Sramik League executive president Fazlul Huq Montu, Swechhasebak League president adv Molla Md Kawsar and Juba Mohila League general secretary Apu Ukil, among others, also addressed the rally.
