Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has blamed BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for countrywide attacks on religious minorities after the polls.
At an Awami League rally at Dhaka’s Suhrawardy Udyan on Friday, five days after the national polls, party president Hasina said the government would be tough as much as it needed to be to stop the violence.
“Outraged by her failure, she (Khaleda Zia) wants to ruin the country. She has set the Jamaat on the minorities,” Hasina said.
She referred to the large-scale violence unleashed by the BNP-led 18-Party alliance ahead and after the polls.
“Don’t torture people, don’t kill people. I would like to appeal to the BNP chief to stop it.
“The Awami League knows how to stop it if you (the BNP and its allies) do not stop it on your own. We will be tough as much as we need to be to save the lives of the people of Bangladesh,” she said.
Hasina said Khaleda Zia had failed to thwart the polls even after telling her supporters to foil it.
“You (Khaleda Zia) have staged a lot of demonstrations,” she said. “Stop now. If you have anything to say, discuss with us, I will solve it.”
The BNP chief made a mistake by not joining the polls, said the Awami League president.
“The BNP chief does not have the ability to stop the progress of Bangladesh with the help of some Razakars (collaborators).
“You have to pay for your mistake. For that, don’t ruin the country by burning it. The people won’t accept it.”
Hasina congratulated the voters for a 40 percent turnout in the national polls and thanked the people for coming out to vote by overcoming the obstacles created by the BNP and its allies.
“I am grateful to those who went to polling stations defying obstacles,” Hasina said.
The rally was organised to mark the Homecoming Day of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Hasina promised to implement the electoral pledges of the Awami League.
The Prime Minister said she had met President Md Abdul Hamid and took his consent to form the government on Sunday.
“We will form the government on Jan 12 and take oath,” she said.
The rally started around 2:30pm with party presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury in the chair.
Presidium members Matia Chowdhury, Mohammad Nasim, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, Organising Secretaries AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Ahmed Hossain and Dhaka Metropolitan Awami League General Secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya also addressed the rally.
Source: Bd news24
