Dhaka, (Barta24.com): Awami League chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the people enjoy democracy and services when Awami League comes to power.
She said that, ‘Awami League assumed power after twenty one years and after then people got back the taste of democracy. Through practicing democracy the country is heading towards economic emancipation. Awami League was the brain child of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. People of this country fought for freedom, fought for liberation and fought for establishing democracy’.
She told this in a discussion meeting held on Wednesday(March27) at Bangabandhu International Conference Center(BICC).The meeting was organized by Awami League.
She said that in the past many rulers and usurpers tried to eliminate Awami League from the political arena including Ayub Khan, Yahiya Khan, Ziaur Rahman, Ershad and even Khaleda Zia. But the root of Awami League is so deep in this soil that none could eliminate it. Rather now it is proved that the party which speaks about the people, who tries to establish the rights of the people that is the real political party. And the party which forcibly occupies power without any root that party cannot exist.
Sheikh Hasina mentioned, how she and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana escaped when Bangabandhu was killed in 1975. She told that we could not come to the country for six years because we were not allowed to come. Because after killing Bangabandhu, the illegal power grabber started a process of remain in power through conspiracy and killing violating the constitution. Thousands of army personnel were killed in that period.
At that time the daily life was very miserable in absence of democracy. The country was run by military dictators by clamping curfew in the night at a stretch for ten years. So where was democracy? She pointed a question. There was no freedom of expression, no freedom for the newspapers. The military rulers played with the fate of the people suppressing their democratic rights.
Sheikh Hasina said that during the rule of illegal power grabbers a section of ‘sycophant’ was created by the rulers. The sycophants despite insulting dealings of illegal rulers used to praise them sitting at their feet. This section of sycophants prefers the military dictators because they get bread and butter from them. My question is that by promulgating Martial Law ordinance and clamping curfew at a stretch in the night how democracy was established.
The mentality of the BNP came to the light that they prefer begging from others rather becoming self sufficient. She referred one incident during 1996-2001 period of Awami League our government declared that we are now self sufficient in food production but the BNP Finance Minister late Saifur Rahman reacted saying that to attain self sufficiency in food was not good because then we would not get aid from foreign donors. They wanted this nation remain as nation of beggars.
Sheikh Hasina narrating the enormous development of the country told that now Bangladesh is the role model of development in the world. Now we are sending satellite in the orbit, sea boundary dispute with the neighbors have been settled, land boundary treaty has been implemented. But the basis of all these successes was shown by the Father of Nation. Now we have submarine also. Those who were in power earlier they did not do it. They did not want that Bangladesh gets a dignified position in the comity of nations.
She reiterated her commitment for realizing the dream of the Father of the Nation- to build up a hunger free nation and stressed the need for making the Awami League stronger with a strong sense of patriotism.
The meeting was jointly conducted by Publicity Secretary and Information Minister Dr. Hassan Mahmud and deputy publicity secretary Aminul Islam. The meeting was also addressed among others by Advisory council member Amir Hossain Amu, presidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Mohammad Nasim, Col.(Retd. Faruq Khan), joint secretary general Abdur Rahman, organizing secretary Misbahuddin Siraj, Dhaka city North president Rahmatullah, Dhaka South president Abul Hasnat, central committee members Amirul Alam Milon, SM Kamal Hossain and professor Merina Jahan.