People of all religious faiths will live together with equal right: HPM Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated her call to the countrymen to stay firm on non-communal spirit of the War of Liberation, saying people of all religious faiths will live in the country with equal right.

“All people in combine have made the country independent in exchange of their blood . . . Freedom of practicing religious ritual of each faith will be remained as we believe in this spirit and Islam also teaches us that lesson,” she said.

The premier was addressing a Victory Day discussion organized by Awami League at its central office in city’s Bangabandhu Avenue. She chaired the discussion joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.

Sheikh Hasina said, “I will say that the people of all religions–Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist– will live in this soil that means we will not neglect other religions as majority Muslim.”

She also mentioned that “Our Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) has given us that lesson.”

“I will tell all of you that any situation has to be tackled with patience. We will only think about how much we could contribute to the country rather than what others say and then we can make the right decision and do the right thing.”

She said intellectuals of the country were killed on the eve of the final victory in 1971 so nobody was remained to propel Bangladesh
ahead.

Mentioning that she herself also lost near and dear ones in the war, the premier said that is why she gets pain from those who lost their
relatives. “Many did not find the bodies of their near and dear ones after the killing of intellectuals that began from December 9 in 1971,” she added.

Again after the killing of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 along with most of his family members, many leaders and activists of Awami League, Chhatra League and other organizations were killed whose bodies were also not found, she observed.

Sheikh Hasina added: “Tortured is still continued… we have witnessed arson attack, militancy, terrorism and others.”

Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, MP, gave the opening speech.

AL Presidium Members Begum Matia Chowdhury, MP, Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, MP, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman, AL Joint Secretary and Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, Joint Secretary A F M Bahaiddin Nasim, Organizing Secretary Mirza Azam, MP, AL Central Committee Member Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya Bir Bikram, AL Dhaka South Unit President Abu Ahmed Mannafi and AL Dhaka North Unit President Sheikh Bazlur Rahman also spoke.

AL Publicity and Publication Secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan Golap, MP, moderated the discussion from the Ganabhaban end.

Extending thanks to the party men for standing beside the people of the country during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sheikh Hasina urged the
Awami League leaders and activists to strengthen the party and spread the ideology of the Father of the Nation to the mass people.

About UNESCO’s international award to be given in honor of Bangabandhu, she said, the organization announced the prize in the
name of the Father of the Nation although his name was tried to erase from the history by the defeated forces. “I think this is a great gift
for the Bangali nation in the birth centenary of Bangabandhu,” she added.

It has been decided to establish “UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize” in the field of the creative economy to promote creative industries that provide youths, women and migrants with sustainable jobs globally.

Sheikh Hasina reiterated her call to the people of the country to follow the health guidelines properly in this fresh surge of Covid-19.

The government, she said, has already signed a deal to procure Covid-19 vaccine once it is available and hoped Bangladesh will get it
soon. The primer said the government wants to keep up the pace of the country’s current progress, and urged all to stay safe and follow the health instructions to avoid coronavirus infections.

“The government is discharging its duties . . . it has provided stimulus packages and extended necessary support to the people as it was urgently needed to maintain the lives and livelihoods,” she added.

Alongside taking the initiative to provide housing to homeless people in “Mujib Borsha”, Sheikh Hasina said her government has already illuminated 99 percent houses in the country.

The premier said, “Awami League’s job is to serve the people and we are providing service which will be continued in future.”

She said Awami League can pull the country towards development due to following the ideology and footsteps of the Father of the Nation.

The head of the government on Victory Day also remembered the support and contribution of different countries and their people to the War of Liberation and post-independence period.