Khaleda Zia Wants To Capture Power in an Unconstitutional Way: PM

"Khaleda Zia is claiming that they are waging movement for democracy. But she does not believe in democracy. She wants to go to power in an unconstitutional way and she is looking at a certain place that someone coming from there would put her in state power," she said.

"We have brought an amendment to the constitution. As per the present constitution, the power usurpers will have to face capital punishment," she said.

The Prime Minister said everybody knows the consequences of capturing power unconstitutionally. "General Zia, General Ershad, Fakhruddin and Moinuddin had realized the consequences. So I believe that none would be interested in stepping into this fire," she said.

She said this while addressing a discussion on the occasion of Amar Ekushey and the International Mother Language Day.

Bangladesh Awami League arranged the discussion at Krishibid Institution of Bangladesh at Farmgate in the capital this afternoon.

Sheikh Hasina, president of Bangladesh Awami League, chaired the discussion.

It was addressed by AL Advisory Council Members Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Suranjit Sengupta, eminent journalist and columnist Rahat Khan, AL Presidium Members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Advocate Sahara Khatun, General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, Joint Secretaries Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif and Dr Dipu Moni, Organizing Secretaries Ahmad Hossain and Krishibid AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Dhaka City AL President MA Aziz and General Secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Food Minister Advocate Kamrul Islam and AL central committee member Aminul Islam Amin.

Awami League Publicity and Publication Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud and Deputy Publicity and Publication Secretary Ashim Kumar Ukil conducted the discussion. At the outset of the discussion, a minute's silence was observed as a mark of respect to the memories of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, four national leaders, martyrs of the War of Liberation and Language Movement.

The Prime Minister said for which desire Khaleda Zia is playing ducks and drakes with the lot of the people and country won't be fulfilled.

"The government won't fall for one or two cocktails. We restored democracy to protect it," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said those lords of Khaleda Zia through which she (Khaleda Zia) wants to go to power have understood the falsehood and cheating of the BNP.

"Their falsehood and cheating are now also clear to the countrymen," she said.

In this connection, the Prime Minister said the US secretary of state has called for halt to the attacks on the civilians in the name of hartals and blockades.

She said Bangladesh did not get cooperation of many during the War of Liberation. Despite that the country advanced much, she said.

"Various obstructions were created when we started the work of the Padma Bridge. At that time, conspiracies were hatched to topple me from the power by putting blame of corruption in the Padma Bridge project," she said.

She said but the hopes of the conspirators were not fulfilled and they could not prove graft in the project. "We said that we would construct the bridge in our own funding, Insha Allah we kept our commitment," she said.

The Prime Minister said the lot of the people of the country could not be changed by the "shudkhor" and "ghushkhor" (bribetaker). It is Awami League who can change the lot of the people," she said.

Terming the present activities of BNP-Jamaat as terrorist and militant acts, the Prime Minister said they have launched massacre like the Pakistani forces did during the War of Liberation.

"There is no involvement of the public in their so-called movement. So Khaleda Zia launched massacre like the Pakistani occupation forces," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said they carried out same carnage in 2013 in the name of foiling the elections. At that time, 55 bus and truck drivers were killed by the BNP-Jamaat nexus, she said, adding common people, the truck carrying cattle were not spared from their hand.

The Prime Minister said nothing to be heinous than burning people to death. What crimes the common people committed? The BNP-Jamaat terrorists even did not spare a pregnant woman, she said.

Mentioning that Begum Khaleda Zia has link with the ISI and IS, the Prime Minister said she is unleashing mindless atrocities on the common people in the name of hartals and blockades. "What type democracy she wants to establish by burning people and felling dead bodies," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said those who are burning people to death must be punished.

"We completed the trial of Bangabandhu killers, while the trial of war criminals is ongoing and it would be finished to free the nation from the curse," the PM said.

"Those who are burning people to death in the name of movement must be tried and punished in the same way," she said.

The Prime Minister called upon the people to help arrest the culprits involved in arson attacks.

Sheikh Hasina paid her deep homage to the memories of the martyrs. She also paid her deep respect to the greatest Bangali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who had steered the language movement from inside the jail, and all other language veterans.

"The greatest Ekushey is the symbol of grief, strength and glory in the life of every Bangali. It is also the symbol of our democratic values, Bangali nationalism, spirit of liberation struggle and secularism," she said.

She said the resonance of the pride of Amar Ekushey is now resounded in the hearts of the people of 193 countries surpassing the boundary of Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister called upon the countrymen to work together to build a hunger and poverty-free Bangladesh being imbued with the spirit of great Ekushey and the War of Liberation.

Photo: Yeasin Kabir Joy