Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday categorically said that the country’s people want election and no one has the power to foil the
next national election billed for January 5 next year. “The January 5 election would surely be held in the soil of Bangladesh in a free, fair and neutral manner and no one has such power to thwart that
election,” she said. The Awami League president was addressing a mammoth public rally at her own constituency at GT Government High
School ground in Tungipara in the afternoon as part of the first leg of her two-day election campaign in three districts. Again accusing
the opposition leader of trying to thwart the war crimes trial and the next election, Hasina said: “She (Khaleda) might have thought that she
would foil the next election and thus not join the polls. But, the people of Bangladesh want free, fair and credible polls, and only
Awami League can give that as it has already proven.” “When the whole of the country want trial of the war criminals to free the
nation from stigma,” she said, “Khaleda Zia is the only person who is killing people and burning people to death, even burning the animals
(cows) to protect the war criminals in the name of hartals and blockades.” “The BNP chairperson has boycotted the election with a
heavy heart for Jamaat as the higher court has barred the Jamaat to contest the polls being a terrorist outfit,” she added. The Prime
Minister gave a fervent call to the countrymen to cast their votes for ‘Boat’, the election symbol of Awami League, coming into the polling
centers with courage on January 5 defying all sorts of adverse situation. She said: “From the soil of Tungipara, I urge the
countrymen to elect the Awami League candidates across the country by exercising their voting rights.” Hasina also called upon all to
remain active and be vigilant so no one including the BNP and Jamaat-Shibir-Razakars could not play game with the fate of the
country’s people, saying that “Bangladesh is not a country for the militants, rather it’s vying for development.” Alleging that the
countrymen are bearing the brunt of the vengeance of the opposition leader, she said: “Khaleda Zia has been working as a cohort of the
defeated forces of 1971 for which she is burning people to death; even cows are not spared her wrath.” Coming down heavily on her arch
rival for issuing ‘ultimatums and threats time and again’ to oust the government and also to force her out of the country, Hasina said that
her birth was on the soil of Bangladesh, but the birth of Khaleda Zia was in Shiliguri in India. “So, she (Khaleda) doesn’t have any love
for the country,” He also said: “No doubt, the next national election will be held in a free and fair manner as so far some 5,803
elections in different tiers were held in the country in the last five years and there was no allegation against any of these.” Mentioning
that it was the oath of the blood of the father of the nation that Bangladesh would be a developed country in the global arena, the Prime
Minister reiterated her strong resolve to free Bangladesh from hunger and poverty by 2021 when the country will be observing its golden
jubilee of independence. Meanwhile, on Friday morning, the Awami League President will address another public rally in Gopalganj at
about 10 am. The rally will be held at Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Degree College ground in Kotalipara. On her way back to Dhaka, Hasina will
address rallies on Louhajang College ground and at Srinagar Stadium in Munshiganj. The rallies will be held at about 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm
respectively. All the rallies will be organised by the local units of Awami League. The Prime Minister will return to the capital on
Friday evening. –UNB
