Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has questioned the legitimacy of the BNP’s formation to counter the party’s claim that her government is illegal.
Answering questions from the press at the Ganabhaban on Saturday, the prime minister brought up the history of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s rise to power post-1975.
“Who are calling the government’s legitimacy into question? What legitimacy do they have? The legitimacy of their own birth is questionable,” Hasina said
The BNP, which boycotted the Jan 5 polls, has been claiming that the elections were illegal, and the new government, as a consequence, was illegal, too.
“How is an election illegal after a 40 percent turnout?” she asked.
Hasina said the Constitution allowed for uncontested elections and blamed the BNP for the problem. “They could have joined and solved that,” she said.
“Her party decided to boycott the polls. If a politician makes wrong decisions, they have to pay for it,” she said.
The prime minister held the press conference to speak about her Japan tour.
The Japanese government committed $ 6 billion for socioeconomic development in Bangladesh during her tour.
The Bangladesh government has also sought Japan’s help in building the Ganga barrage, a tunnel under the Jamuna, a rail bridge parallel to the Bangabandhu Bridge, the Dhaka eastern bypass, and for four river dredging projects.
An MoU has been signed for 40 plots and two industrial buildings for Japanese investors in the country’s five export processing zones.
The foreign ministers of the two countries signed the exchange note for an ODA loan package in the presence of the two prime ministers.
Under the package, the Japanese government will lend Bangladesh 120 billion Yen (almost $ 1.18 billion) to build a 1,200 MW coal-based power plant.
Source: Bd news24
