Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday slammed the eminent citizens who had suggested the government to defer the January 5 parliamentary elections to make it participatory and credible.
“The election has reached such a stage when it can be stopped only by unconstitutional means. I don’t know why the eminent citizens are calling for the abnormal and unconstitutional path,” she said after receiving the results of JSC and JDC from Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid at her official residence Ganobhaban.
On Saturday, some eminent citizens from a discussion at a hotel in city’s Gulshan suggested the government to defer the January 5 parliamentary polls to make it participatory and credible.
The discussion on ‘Bangladesh in Crisis’ was jointly organized by civil society think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), legal aid organisation Ain O Salish Kendra, civic movement for good governance Sujan, and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
Eminent jurist Barrister Rafiqul Haque; eminent educationist Prof Anisuzzaman; CPD chairman Prof Rehman Sobhan; Dr Asif Nazrul, professor of law at Dhaka University; executive director of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan; TIB executive director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, chairman of Bishwa Sahitya Kendra Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed; former advisers to caretaker government Syed Manzur Elahi, Barrister Mainul Hosein and Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman; editor and publisher of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam; distinguished fellow of CPD Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya; president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute Farooq Sobhan; and president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rokia Afzal Rahman also spoke on the occasion.
Sheikh Hasina said: “These eminent citizens benefited the most during the era of undemocratic and unconstitutional system in the past…the key players of the 1/11 has again become vocal these days.”
She said that during the unconstitutional era, the demand of these eminent citizens increased with the chance of having flag in their cars.
“This might be in their thinking (again). Otherwise, I don’t find any reason for their sudden outspoken attitude… these people always wait for something abnormal in the country to have their share,” she added.
The PM said when she invited the opposition leader to a dialogue and the opposition leader had outright rejected the offer, these eminent citizens were silent at that time. “They also did not say anything when the BNP-Jamaat terrorists had attacked innocent people, burn vehicles, and cut down trees.”
She said that a section of the people in the country now put the criminals and protectors at the same level. “This is very unfortunate.
Referring to the eminent citizens’ demand during the Saturday’s discussion, Hasina said: “Why their conscience awake so lately… why their conscience slept when the BNP-Jamaat terrorists attacked the school going students and their guardians?.
She also criticized the environmentalists for their silence when the BNP-Jamaat people had been cutting down huge numbers of tress across the country. “Why you failed to say ‘stop such activities that will destroy the environment of the country’?” she asked.
The Prime Minister thanked the students, teachers and others concerned for their hard work to complete the examinations amid adverse situation and publish the result within 35 days only. Last year, the result was published in 37 days, she said.
Congratulating the successful students, she said that despite the adverse situation like the opposition hartal and blockade programmes during the examination, such an important task has been completed with coordinated efforts of all including teachers, guardians and officials of the boards and the Education Ministry.
Hasina said that the pass rate is gradually increasing as her government has implemented massive “far-sighted programmes” to build an educated nation.
In this regard, she mentioned training for the teachers, distribution of free textbooks, providing stipends and other support.
Criticizing the BNP-Jamaat’s destructive activities like arson attack on people, hurling of petrol bombs and cutting of trees in the name of movement, the Prime Minister said the tender-hearted examinees became frightened from such dreadful activities.
She mentioned that in spite of her repeated request over phone, the BNP chief did not call of her hartal programmes during the time of JSC-JDC examinations creating uncertainty and causing mental sufferings to the young examinees.
As a result, dates of examinations were shifted several times, she said.
Source: UNBConnect
