Terming BNP’s boycott of the general election of 2014 as a wrong political decision, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the BNP leader herself responsible for it, none should be blamed.
“BNP is out of Jatiya Sangsad because of the wrong political decision of its chairperson. Now she should reorganise her party, look for the party’s future and let people know what she wants to do for the country’s socioeconomic development,” the Prime Minister said.
Addressing the nation over radio and television on Monday evening marking completion of one-year of January 5, 2014 general election, the Premier urged the BNP leader to shun politics of subversive activities and return to the path of peace.“The path you are following will not bring any benefit for the people. Instead you will lose public faith and confidence,” Sheikh Hasina told Begum Zia.
The Prime Minister called upon the BNP leader to ‘stop killing, hurling bombs and grenades, setting fire and causing damage to the life and property of the people’ asking her as to why people will pay “for your wicked politics”.
Sheikh Hasina said the people want security, peace and development. “We want to come out of the vicious circle of unhealthy politics. We want to begin a politics which will bring welfare for the country and its people.”
In her 25-minute speech, the Prime Minister said 2014 will remain as a glorious year in the nation’s history in terms of the country’s overall development, continuation of constitutional and democratic rule and rekindling people with the spirit of the War of Liberation.
She said the people of Bangladesh are living in a well-off condition and peaceful situation. BNP and its lackeys are trying to create anarchy and instability again when the country with the united efforts of all is proceeding fast towards the development highway.
“They are trying to spread out their conspiracy with the evil force which have no faith to the very existence of Bangladesh and out to protect the war criminals,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said BNP-Jamaat alliance resorted to a reign of terror across the country to foil the 2014 election and protect the war criminals.
They set fire to hundreds of vehicles, destroyed thousands others and cut down thousands of roadside trees. Hundreds of people lost their lives and sustained injuries in their violent assaults, torching and crude and petrol bomb attacks while as many as 20 members of the law-enforcement agencies and armed forces were killed, she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the government pinned on holding the election under the constitutional framework as there was no provision of unelected government in the constitution.
She said prior to the January 5, 2014 election her government made a frantic stride to sit for dialogue and was ready to give maximum concession. But the BNP-Jamaat alliance was out to create an anarchic situation to capture power through backdoor,” she said.
Highlighting the successes achieved during the tenure of her government, Prime minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is now one of the five fast growing nations in the world. It’s now a role model of development before the world.
She said around five crore people graduated them from low-income group to medium-income group during her present tenure in office. Poverty rate reduced to 24 percent from 41.5 percent of the BNP regime while extreme poverty rate now reduced to 11 percent from 24.2 percent in 2006.
Sheikh Hasina said the income capacity of people has been increased during her government’s tenure along with creation of employment opportunities. Around one crore people found jobs in the private and public sectors at home and about 2.5 million people went abroad with overseas jobs.
The Premier said the country’s foreign exchange reserves were US$3.48 billion in 2005-2006 fiscal which now rose to US$ 22.39 billion. The volume of remittance sent by expatriate nationals also increased by three times and rose to US$ 14.23 billion in 2013-2014 fiscal against US$4.80 billion in 2006. – BSS
