The government will take appropriate action if any innocent person falls victim to the drive, she said
No one involved with the narcotics trade will be spared, irrespective of their affiliations, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has warned.
Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka on Wednesday, she further said no innocent individual had been a victim during the nationwide anti-narcotics drive currently being carried out by the law enforcement agencies.
“Show me an incident where an innocent person has been victimized [during the drive],” the prime minister said. “We will certainly take steps if any innocent person falls victim to the drive.”
The press conference was organized at Ganabhaban, the prime minister’s official residence, Wednesday afternoon to brief the media about her recent visit to West Bengal, India.
She further said the anti-narcotics drive was bringing the people of the country relief.
“The people of the country are getting relief from the anti-narcotics drive and it is the demand of the people. Even the big dailies are making big headlines over the spread of drugs. Let us do our job,” she told the media.
More than 10,000 people have been arrested in the drives so far, she said, replying to a question about the ongoing anti-narcotics drive.
But no newspaper ran any news over the number of arrestees during the drive, she added.
“We must root out the curse of drugs from the society… If some incident takes place during a drive, and if you [the media] highlight it, should we stop them [the raids]?” she asked.
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“When we get a little bit of information, we take action, no matter who are involved in it,” the prime minister said. “The government did not launch this drive based on nothing. Intelligence agencies have collected information for a long time. They dug out who are involved in it… we put them under surveillance.”
Responding to a question regarding the godfathers and dons who control narcotics trade in the country, Hasina said whoever these godfathers are and whatever the force they belong to, the government will not spare anyone, reported UNB.
“If there is any godfather, he or she won’t be spared. I can say this because whenever I deal with something, I deal it with an iron hand. I don’t look at who is whose relative,” BSS quoted the prime minister as saying.
The prime minister went to West Bengal on May 25 for a two-day official visit.
During the visit, the prime minister and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the Bangladesh Bhavan at the Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. They also held a meeting there.
Hasina also attended the university’s convocation ceremony as the guest of honour.
She received an honorary Doctor of Literature (D Litt) degree from Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol.
The prime minister also had a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
During her visit, she visited the historic Jorasanko Thakur Bari, the residence of Rabindranath Tagore, and the Netaji Bhavan in Kolkata.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali were present on the stage with the prime minister, while PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim moderated the press conference.
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, PM’s advisers HT Imam, Dr Moshiur Rahman and Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam were present at the briefing as well, among others.
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
