Accusing the opposition BNP of pursuing destructive politics, including killing, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday alleged that BNP does not understand the language of democracy.
“When the country is moving fast towards progress, the opposition is playing foul. They (BNP) even don’t understand the language of democracy,” she told a huge public meeting in the city.
Lalbagh and Kotwali thana unit of Awami League organised the rally on the premises of Azimpur Girls School and College with Lalbagh thana AL president Alhaj Abul Hasnat in the chair.
“Sensing their ultimate fate in the next election, the opposition is now killing people, including police, BGB and member of the armed forces. “They only know how to kill… that’s it,” she said.
Referring to Khaleda Zia’s 48-hour ultimatum during Hefajat-e-Islam’s May 5 rally, Hasina said it did not work. “You had also asked the city dwellers to come out, but nobody paid heed to your call,” she said.
She said that Khaleda Zia had also promised to feed the Hefajat men slaughtering 200 cows, but did not provide a single fistful of rice.
During the May 5-6 violence, Hasina alleged, BNP with Jamaat and Hefajat men burned numerous copies of the holy Quran in the city. “How one can protect Islam by burning the holy Quran?” she questioned.
The Prime Minister reiterated her call for all to vote for her party to maintain the existing terrorism- and militancy-free environment in the country and the present pace of development.
She claimed that people never get deprived of if they cast their votes for ‘Boat’, the election of her party that led the Liberation War, as it has the responsibility for the countrymen.
The main objective of Awami League is to ensure people’s welfare and when it is voted to power it ensures food, healthcare, education and other amenities for people, Hasina told the meeting.
The Prime Minister said during the current tenure of her government, they have fulfilled various demands of the city dwellers, including that of electricity and water.
She said the electricity generation has risen to 6,675 megawatt a day while 22 crore liters of water is being supplied everyday. “This has been possible due to some pragmatic steps of the government.”
In order to reduce traffic congestion in the city, a number of flyovers and overpasses have been constructed, Hasina said adding that the Hatirjheel has been a scenic spot of recreation connecting the city’s western and eastern parts of Dhaka.
Besides, her government constructed a number of large hospitals at different parts of the city, including Kurmitola, Tejgaon, Mughda, and Agargaon areas, to provide improved healthcare to the locals.
Terming education as the main tool of poverty alleviation, the Prime Minister said her government attached top most priority to it as the desired development is not possible as without education.
Highlighting her government’s steps taken for the spread of education, Hasina mentioned the formulation of the national education policy, free distribution of textbooks up to secondary level, upgrading of madrasah and technical education, giving stipend to 1.20 crore students and setting up of Prime Minister Education Assistance Trust Fund to help poor and meritorious students at the degree level.
Besides, she said, multimedia classrooms have been set up in over 23500 schools and computers are being given to students at a lower cost.
Hasina promised that if voted to power again her government will ensure cent percent literacy rate in the country so that the nation can stand among the international community raising its head high.
She also trumpeted the successes of her government in ensuring food security through boosting production in agriculture, reaching healthcare to the doorsteps of the common people through community clinics and increasing the number of beds in all government hospitals and enhancement of social safety net programme, increasing electricity generation.
Referring to her election pledge of building Digital Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina said her government achieved its goal to a large extent through reaching internet connection up to the union level, and rural people are now availing of the facilities of digital technologies.
She said Vision 2021 was an election pledge of the government to build Digital Bangladesh free from poverty, hunger and illiteracy, and turn the country into a middle-income one in the golden jubilee year of its independence and the government is working relentlessly to this end.
Earlier, the Prime Minister inaugurated the 1000-seat 11-storey dormitory building of Eden Women College on its premises.
She also inaugurated Azimpur Electricity Substation and Kotwali Electricity Substation, and laid the foundation stone of a maternity hospital at Shahidnagar, a community centre at Islambagh in Lalbagh and government primary school building at Prosanna Poddar lane from the meeting venue.
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif, AL Dhaka city unit GS Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, State Minister for Law Kamrul Islam and local MP Dr Mostafa Jalal Mahiuddin also spoke at the rally.
Source: UNBConnect
