Bangladesh Will Recover The Losses Caused By Hartal And Blockade: PM

In view of this she urged all to work together and implement the development programmes of the government, saying that she is confident that people of Bangladesh has the ability to overcome any situation. Right direction and leadership would certainly take forward the country, she added.

The Prime Minister said this during a video conference with the District Development Coordination Committees of Natore and Feni districts and officials of Rajshahi and Chittagong Division and four districts from Bangladesh Secretariat here today.

Sheikh Hasina said the BNP chairperson lived in party office for 92 days to unseat the Awami League government. She created problem for common people and burnt innocent people alive which no politician having minimum affection for people can do.

"Awami League remains in power for working for the country's development. But Khaleda Zia failed to unseat the government as people didn't support her actions. Rather she had to surrender to the court and go back to her home," she said.

"Khaleda Zia, in future, would not have strength to think about unseating the government," the Prime Minister added.

Sheikh Hasina said the countrymen want peace. So the persons responsible for destroying the peace and stability from public life should be dealt with a strong hand. Each and every culprit responsible for militant activities, killing and hurling petrol bombs at people should be found out and hand over the court of law.

She asked the law enforcing agencies to carry out their operations in this regard and said this should be done for protecting the life and property of the people, she said.

Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan conducted the conference while PM's Media Advisor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, State Minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for Public Administration Ismat Ara Sadeq and senior officials of the Cabinet Division and the Prime Minister's Office were present.

Asking the officials to make their sincere efforts for timely implementation of the development projects, the Prime Minister said this should be done to alleviate poverty in a quick pace and contain terrorism and militancy as the government aims to build a middle-income country by 2021.

In view of this, the Prime Minister asked the deputy commissioners of all districts to find out first the homeless people under their jurisdiction and go for "Ashrayan" project to build home for them apart from giving allotment of "Khas" land.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "We want quick development of the country as Bangladesh earned independence in exchange for the blood of millions of people for economic emancipation. A victorious nation cannot lag behind other nations for long as far as socioeconomic development is concerned.

Sheikh Hasina said the main objective of her video conferencing with district officials is to bring dynamism in the activities of the grassroots administration and expedite implementation of the development projects.

"We want development of every district. The video conference helps to learn about the development activities being implemented in the districts, civic problems, potentials and take new ideas for development plan according to the needs of an area.

Terming the video conference as the manifestation of the country's progress toward building a "Digital Bangladesh", she said the video conference also helps know about the problems facing by the agencies in implementing development projects and give them necessary directives to get over the hurdles.

Sheikh Hasina said the prime objective of her government is to build the country as a developed and prosperous one. "We have to work sincerely to build a poverty-free nation. We want to make Bangladesh as a middle-income country by 2021," she said.

She said Awami League came to power in 1996 when people of Bangladesh could realize that the foremost task of the government is to give service to the people for their socioeconomic development and make a future for them.

The Awami league government after assuming power in 1996 took Bangladesh towards the path of prosperity in only five years making the country self-sufficient in food production, increasing literacy rate, growth rate, controlling inflation and creating a prospect for the nation as well.

But the prospect was dashed when the BNP-Jamaat alliance came to power in 2001 and resorted to killing, intimidation and militant activities. As a result, the people lost their confidence in government becoming frightened.

"Within a short time a country of prospect turned into a country of militants and terrorists. Gradually, the country moved backward in every sector, she said, adding it's very rare for a country to go backward from a level of development which it has already achieved.

"But it happened in the case of Bangladesh," she said, adding BNP and Jamaat took the power out of their consumerism spirit and they never devoted their mind to development or welfare of the nation.

"They were busy with arms-ammunition deals, grenade attacks, killing of parliament members and many other criminal activities during their whole tenure from 2001 and 2006," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said Ziaur Rahman had done the worst in the country's politics through rehabilitating the anti-liberation forces, stopping trial of the war criminals, bringing many of them back from abroad and taking the country to an opposite direction.

After taking power in 2001, the Prime Minister said BNP leader Khaleda Zia completed the unfinished venture of her husband by making chiefs of Al-Badr and Razakar and masterminds of genocide and killers of intellectuals as members of her cabinet and put forth the national flag to their hands. By doing this, Khaleda Zia has betrayed with the martyrs of independence and the nation as well, she said.

Sheikh Hasina said people of Bangladesh voted Awami League to power in 2008 to be freed from the situation. Since then, she said, Awami League is making frantic stride to rescue the country from the situation where it was taken away by the BNP and subsequent caretaker government.

Sheikh Hasina said Awami League assumed power in a situation when the country was reeling from the misrule of the BNP-Jamaat alliance and severe global economic crisis.

Only in the six years, she said, the Awami League government took the country to light from darkness. Today, Bangladesh has again emerged as a prospective country and a role model of development in the world, she said.

The Prime Minister said BNP and Jamaat unleashed their vandalism when the country was progressing toward development again. Their terrorist activities in 2013 were unprecedented and in 2014 they had started vandalism again in the name of boycotting the election.

Sheikh Hasina said people of Bangladesh were in peace and comfort for one year after the January 5, 2014 election. But suddenly, at the instigation of the BNP Chairperson her workers resumed vandalism and militant activities again in last January.

Khaleda Zia, she said, ordered for those inhuman activities that claimed lives of more than 150 people and injured thousand others apart from destroying public properties.

Recalling the dreadful situation in Natore and Feni during the BNP-Jamaat regime from 2001 to 2006, the Prime Minister said the militants cut an Awami League leader into pieces and then buried. Another leader was killed and hanged from tree branches keeping his legs upward. People were murdered in broad daylight and ministers of the BNP government were involved in those killing, she said.

Sheikh Hasina urged the people of Natore and Feni to remain careful so that the militants and terrorists cannot raise their heads in the areas again.

She also asked the officials to take necessary measures to allow people to celebrate the Bengali New Year with enthusiasm and fanfare.

Photo: Saiful Islam Kallol