Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday (November 03, 2022) warned that her government will not spare BNP if it resorts to violence in the name of movement.
“I told them (BNP) we’ll say nothing if they hold peaceful processions and meetings. But they are going for showdown bearing sticks. If they attack any person, we’ll not spare them,” she said.
The premier was addressing a discussion arranged by Bangladesh Awami League at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre here on the occasion of the Jail Killing Day.
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Sheikh Hasina said the movement of BNP means arson violence. What a mayhem they carried out across Bangladesh in 2013, 2014 and 2015. They proved that they are allies of the Pakistani occupation force,” she said, giving an account of the damages caused by the mayhem.
She questioned how BNP dreams that the people will vote for them as the party didn’t stand beside the people with nominal assistance during any tough time.
The Prime Minister said Khaleda Zia was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust case and sentenced to 10-year in jail. Khaleda’s sister, brother and sister’s spouse came to her (PM) and with plea to release her.
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“We’ve given her (Khaleda) scope to stay in her house, suspending her sentence on humanitarian grounds. If BNP does excesses, we will send her back to jail,” she said.
Where is the head of BNP?
PM Hasina once again said that BNP emerged from the pocket of a military dictator who illegally grabbed power. How will such a party rescue democracy,? she asked.
“Hearing it (BNP’s announcement for restoration of democracy), there are also some people who supported them. What knowledge and intellect do they have? Can’t they realize the reality?” she wondered.
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The PM also questioned about the whereabouts of BNP leadership. “BNP is jumping, but where is their leader?” she said, adding that both Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman were convicted by court in graft cases.
Khaleda will be back in jail if BNP crosses the limit:
“BNP is showing excitement. But they have two leaders and both are convicted,” she said.
The premier said a convicted person can’t be the party’s chairman as per the charter of BNP. Since Khaleda Zia is a convicted, the chairmanship was given to Tarique Zia who is also a convicted. “Where is the head of BNP now?” she said.
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Vote Campaign on development successes: PM to AL leaders and activists
Sheikh Hasina, also the president of Awami League, asked her party leaders and activists to tell the people about her government’s development achievements ahead of the next national election.
“(Convince the people) if AL returns to power, the development trend will continue. And if BNP comes, incidents like looting, misdeeds, bombing and grenade attacks will return,” she told AL men.
She said the people don’t want to see such an unstable situation, rather they want peace. They know AL means development and AL means the improvement of people’s life, she added.
Jail Killing Day: A Look Back
After the killings inside Dhaka Central Jail, people realized that the August 15 massacre was not just about killing a family.
Talking about the Jail Killing day, the PM said a perception was created following the 1975 August tragedy that the assassination of the Father of Nation was merely the wiping out a family. But when the November 3 killing occurred, the people could realize that it had not been the killing of only a family rather the killing of the spirit of the Liberation War and ideology of the Independence.
She said several successive governments after the August 15 bloodbath distorted the history of Bangladesh, erased the name of the Father of the Nation and carried out campaign against him. Anti-Liberation Force and war criminals were reinstated in power.
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“Whether Bangladesh remained truly independent after 1975 mayhem was a big question,” said Hasina, adding that the successive governments started acting against the spirit of the Liberation War.
AL general secretary Obaidul Quader delivered the welcome speech while AL presidium members Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Engr. Mosharraf Hossain and Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya Bir Bikram, AL central committee member Parvin Zaman Kalpana, martyred Syed Nazrul Islam’s daughter Dr Syeda Zakia Noor Lipi, and Dhaka South and North City AL presidents Abu Ahmed Monnafi and Sheikh Bazlur Rahman spoke at the event.
AL publicity and publication secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, MP, and his deputy Aminul Islam moderated the discussion.
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The day is observed to remember four national leaders Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain M Mansur Ali, and AHM Quamruzzaman who were assassinated inside Dhaka Central Jail on November 3 in 1975.
Bangladesh's Jail killing massacre happened barely three months after anti-liberation elements assassinated the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members on August 15, 1975.