The Victory Of Three Daughters In UK Is A Matter Of Pride For Us: PM

"The victory of three daughters--Tulip Rizwana Siddique, Rushanara Ali and Dr Rupa Huq--in the UK that ruled us for nearly 200 years is a matter of pride for us. I seek doa of the countrymen so that the crown of the victory they brought for the people of the country beam out the ray of light for eternity," she said.

Quoting Bangabandhu that it is not possible to clinch any great achievement without sacrifice, Sheikh Hasina said the main objective of the government is to ensure further development along with a beautiful living for the people.

"I wish that the people of the country get a better and beautiful life as we have been working to achieve that goal," she said seeking cooperation from all towards that end.

The Leader of the House made the comments while participating in a
thanksgiving motion on the election of three Bangladeshi-origin females in the British House of Commons.

Ruling party lawmaker Dr Dipu Moni proposed the thanksgiving motion on the victory of Tulip Rizwana Siddique, Rushanara Ali and Dr Rupa Huq in the UK general elections on May 7.

Tulip, the granddaughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and niece of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was elected from the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, on the top of 10 most contested seats in London.

Daughter of Sheikh Rehana, Tulip got 23,977 votes against her Conservative counterpart Simon Marcus' 22,839 votes.

Rushanara Ali, the first British lawmaker with roots in Bangladesh, retained her seat from East London's Bethnal Green and Bow constituency with a majority of 24,317 votes.

Hailing from Biswanath in Sylhet, Rushanara secured 32,387 votes, while her nearest rival Conservative candidate Mathew Smith bagged 8,070 votes.

Dr Rupa Huq was elected from Ealing Central and Acton constituency by bagging 22,002 votes. Her nearest rival Conservative Party-backed Angie Bray obtained 21,728 votes.

Rup Huq is a senior lecturer of the Sociology Department of the Kingston University and her ancestral home is in Pabna. With her victory, the Labour Party regained the Ealing Central and Acton constituency.

The Prime Minister said after the assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, military dictator Ziaur Rahman gave an order so that "we cannot return home and the military ruler obstructed us in that way."

Sheikh Hasina said they had to move by crossing many hurdles put by the military dictator during those black days. "We were not allowed to enter our home at 32 Dhanmondi at that time," she said.

The Prime Minister said the history of Bangladesh was distorted and ill efforts were made at that time to erase the name of Bangabandhu. "But the people of the country did not forget the name of Bangabandhu and for this, I am very grateful to them," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said: "We have grown our children up with the ideology of Bangabandhu and they are now dedicated to the welfare of the people.

Seeking doa from the countrymen to pray for Tulip so that she can bring more laurels for Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said Tulip has been elected in the (British) House of Commons as Rehana lived with an asylum status in that country.

In this connection, she expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the Bangladeshi expatriates living in Britain for working and extending support to Tulip. "There is also a friendly relation between Bangladesh and the UK," she said.

Sheikh Hasina also expressed gratitude to the people of Bangladesh, saying that she has found her lost father, mother and brothers among the people of the country. "We have lost everything, but we have found our father, mother and brothers among the countrymen," she said in an emotion-charged voice.

The Prime Minister said Tulip worked for the development of her election constituency and visited door to door to seek vote. "Her sincerity, integrity and working efficiency really impressed me and I feel proud that once a little Tulip is now a member of the UK parliament," she said.

Pointing out her presence in the House of Commons during the maiden speech of Tulip, Sheikh Hasina said she feels proud as Tulip delivered her maiden speech fluently, beautifully and excellently.

"I myself, Rehana, Joy, Putul and Bobby were present on the occasion and it was a rare honour for us," she said. The Prime Minister said Kahleda Zia's son Tarique Zia, who is now hiding in the UK with political asylum, created many obstacles so that Tulip could not be elected.

"Tarique did everything including making attacks on the voters and spreading propaganda so that Tulip is not elected," she said.

Narrating the struggling life of Sheikh Rehana and herself after the assassination of Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina said being a daughter of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Rehana and me never took any facilities.

"Moreover, she (Rehana) led a struggling life while staying abroad and performed an ideal responsibility to groom her children and also my children," she said.

Apart from Dipu Moni, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shariar Alam, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki, treasury bench members Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Suranjit Sengupta, Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, Sagupta Yasmin Emily, Begum Fazilatunnesa Bappi, Begum Sanjida Khanam, AKM Shahjahan Kamal, Abdul Mannan, Md Monirul Islam, Advocate Abu Zahir, opposition member Peer Fazlur Rahman, independent lawmaker Rustom Ali Farazi took part in the discussion.

Image: Focus Bangla News