Dhaka, April 19 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday directed her party rank and file to strengthen its grassroots by holding district councils respectively ahead of the party national council session likely to be held in October this year.
Hasina, also the president of Bangladesh Awami League, came up with the direction at a joint meeting of Awami League Central Working Committee (ALCWC) and Advisory Council at the party headquarters at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city.
“Our party chief asked us to strengthen our grassroots through holding fresh council sessions to its 78 organisational districts ahead of the national council session,” AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told The Independent yesterday.
Emerging from the joint meeting, Hanif, also the acting general secretary of AL said they have already formed eight committees for eight divisions comprising of presidium members, advisory council members and ALCWC members. These committees will visit different organizational districts soon to reconstitute the party at the grassroots, he added.
Meanwhile, the ruling party also plans to launch its organizational tour across the country afresh from the mid-April, in an effort to strengthen the party at the grassroots level by holding councils to districts, Upazilas and thanas ahead of the party upcoming 21st national council session likely to be held in October.
Party insiders said the main objectives of the tours are to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level, forming a divisional committee to observe the 100th birth anniversary of Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Another objective of the tour is to minimize intra-party conflicts at the grassroots level, that gripped the party local leaders and workers centring the recently held local body elections, AL sources said.
Talking to The Independent about the joint meeting decision, AL central committee member Iqbal Hossain Apu said, “mainly our leader and prime minister Sheikh Hasina directed us to get ready to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu gorgeously. The year 2020-2021 will be observed as the Mujib Year and this will be celebrated both from the government and the party.”
Earlier, at her introductory speech at the joint meeting, the AL president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also ordered her party leaders to work for strengthening her party’s grassroots level.
After August 15, 1975, the Prime Minister said, the dark era fell upon the whole nation where the people of the country did not get their desired development. “On the other hand, whenever AL formed governments, the lives of the people of the country changed. Today, Bangladesh is on its way to eradicate hunger and poverty.”
She mentioned the AL, after returning to power in 2008, has been able to reduce the rate of poverty from 40 percent to 21 percent. “We’re on the way to ensure all the basic rights of people that have been enshrined in the Constitution.”
Sheikh Hasina, also chief of the AL, said the people of the country are marching towards economic development and their fate has been changed.
“The touch of this development is visible in rural areas as villagers are now getting out from poverty and their solvency is increasing, which was the dream of the Father of the Nation,” she said adding that the popularity of the AL has been increasing day by day.
“Generally, the popularity of the ruling party wanes, the case is different for AL,” she said.
Hasina mentioned that in the last election held in December 2018 people from all walks of life extended their support to the party.
“All wanted to see the AL in power to serve them, they cast their votes for AL massively.”
On the contrary, Hasina said, BNP-Jamaat nexus took the election as their tool to make some money in the name of giving party nominations. “They were not serious about the election. Their intention was to make some hefty money by nomination trade. They suffered defeat in the election as a result of that, she added.
Hasina said the aim of the government is to present a developed and prosperous life for the people of the country. “Bangladesh is marching ahead and will continue its journey towards prosperity… no one will be able to resist it.” – Staff Reporter
