Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday in parliament said officials need to be more cautious so that BNP and Jamaat-Shibir men involved in terrorist and militant activities are not recruited in the police force.
“We do not want to interfere in this regard, but it is the duty and responsibility of the police force to look into it so that those who were involved in terrorist and militant acts and arson attacks, especially during the mayhem unleashed by the BNP-Jamaat-Shibir in 2013, 2014, and 2015, cannot be recruited in a disciplined force like the police,” said the PM replying to lawmakers’ queries.
The premier also called upon the lawmakers to inform intelligence agencies if any “militant or person involved in firebomb attacks” was appointed in the disciplined force.
And those information will surely be scrutinised before taking proper steps, Hasina added.
“There are certain policies and guidelines for the recruitment of manpower in the police force, and the police officials concerned are in charge of it. But police officials should keep in mind that the BNP-Jamaat-Shibir men killed 19 police members.”
In reply to a question, Hasina informed the Jatiya Sangsad that over 7,139 posts in police had been created for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to strengthen security in the capital, and the recruitment process in this regard was going on.
Responding to a supplementary question, Hasina said “Joy Bangla Joy Bangabandhu” slogan had inspired the whole nation during the Liberation War, and finally the nation had been able to gain its independence defeating the Pakistan force.
Pointing to her son and her ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasina said what Joy would do in the future depends on him.
She said Joy had been helping the government by contributing to its bid to become Digital Bangladesh. “He is serving the nation and the country … He’ll choose his own path.”
On migrant workers, the PM placed her government’s short-mid-and long-term plans which include digitalisation of Wage Earners’ Welfare Board, setting up call centres in Dhaka to assist migrant workers, reserving quota in educational institutions and public hospitals for migrant workers, their family members and children.
The mid-term plans include setting up nine schools in Saudi Arabia for migrant workers’ children, specialised insurance companies for them and diagnostic centres for their health checkups.
The long term plans include the construction of hospitals to provide health services to migrant workers and their families.
Hasina also told the House that her government would take housing projects in divisional and district level for migrant workers.
Placing her government’s plan to provide health services to the country’s people, the premier said construction work of the national burn and plastic surgery institute in the capital would start in the first week of March.
About importing electricity from India, the PM said the process was going on to import 500MW electricity from the neighbouring country by July 2018.
Hasina added that 500MW electricity had been saved by reducing waste of power.
She also placed her government’s plan to dredge 50 waterways.
Another anti-terror sermon at a crucial time; the seventh anniversary of the killings of the BDR officers. It was a well planned killing. So she has covered up this this time with cricket matches and her rhetoric of terror charges against BNP.