I’ve been working to uplift the fate of people: HPM Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina said she has been trying to run the country with utmost honesty and working for changing the lot of the people as well as ensuring their socioeconomic development.

"Taking the death in the grip and risking life, I have been working for changing the lot of the people and ensuring their socioeconomic uplift ... I'm trying to govern the country with honesty," she said.

The prime minister said this when Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam raised a supplementary to greet her as Sheikh Hasina has been chosen as one of the top honest leaders of the world by research firm of global politics.

People's and Politics has ranked the Bangladesh premier the 3rd among five in its list of honest global leaders.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the list of the honest leaders of 173 countries. She has got 90 out of 100. The Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, stood second with 88.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina secured the 3rd position in the list with 87 score. Securing 85 Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg stood 4th in the list and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, who has got 81, stands in the fifth place of the list.

The prime minister said she doesn't care what she got and what she didn't get or who recognized her and who didn't. "My only thinking that how much work I could do for changing the fate of the people," she said.

Sheikh Hasina added: "I don't think about what amount of money and property I have ... money and property don't exist forever as man is mortal. They will have to go leaving all things."

She said the human beings don't understand and they suffer from anxiety for the greed of property. "It's their natural instinct and those who could keep it under control can give the country and the people to something,"

"We've come here to give. We've given blood and lost parents and brothers .... I've risked my life so that Bangladesh is developed and prosperous as an independent country and moves on the world stage by keeping its head high," she added.

Thanking the organisation which published the list, Sheikh Hasina said it has enhanced the dignity of the country. "It's a big achievement for me," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the list would have been different if it compared the number of population between Bangladesh and the countries from which the other leaders have been placed.

"Over 16 crore people live in our little territory of 55,598 square miles area. Moreover, they haven't lost their parents and near and dear ones and they were not tortured and not indicted in false cases," the PM said.

Sheikh Hasina added they didn't become a victim of the grenade attack or face threat through planting of a 76-kg bomb. "Attempts on my life were made time and again. If they could face such a threat, they would stayed in the house much earlier," she said.

The prime minister said the continuity of democracy was disrupted in Bangladesh time and again.

"We had to wage movement for restoration of democracy and the country is now marching forward through the practice of democracy," she said.

About the corruption, the Leader of the House said the whole body is infected if head gets rotten. "As the head remains well, so we could cure wounds from the body," she said.

The prime minister said the country's growth won't 7.28 percent and per capita income won't 1610 dollars had massive corruption taken place in the country. "Had graft taken place to a large extent, such big roads and bridges couldn't be built in the country within short time," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the government is constructing the Padma bridge with own funding by taking the corruption as a challenge. "Honesty is the strength and we've proven it," she added.

The honesty of the leaders has been measured by People's and Politics based on five criteria. They are: no foreign bank account, level of increase of the personal assets after coming into power, information about the accumulation of hidden assets, specific corruption charges and thought of the people of the leader's country.

It has been found in the research published recently by the organisation that Sheikh Hasina does not have any bank account abroad. Apart from her salary, no additional income has been found.

The research has confirmed that Sheikh Hasina does not have any hidden assets. Some 78 percent people of Bangladesh believe that Sheikh Hasina is honest and does not have lust.

Photo: Saiful Islam Kallol