Counter the propaganda against govt, country: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged Bangladeshi expatriates to strongly counter the propaganda spread from abroad against her government and Bangladesh.

"Give an instant befitting reply to the propaganda against us," she told a civic reception in New York accorded to her by the Bangladeshi community in the US on Saturday.

Joining the event virtually, the PM asked the expatriates to highlight the country's unprecedented development that has taken place during the tenure of the Awami League government.

Hasina said Bangladesh has achieved so much that its nationals can move around the world keeping their heads high with dignity. "Uphold the image wherever you go," she told the Bangladeshis living abroad.

She pointed out that the relatives of the war criminals and killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman alongside the people who fled the country committing various crimes such as money laundering are behind the propaganda.

"The people, who are spreading the propaganda on the social media, were mostly sacked from jobs for their involvement in misdeeds or they fled the country committing crimes."

The PM called upon all to expose the misdeeds of the people who are now lecturing others with false and fabricated information about the government and Bangladesh using social media.

"Don't pay heed to their words [propaganda], rather present our development stories before the people."

Hasina asked them to inform congressmen, senators and elected representatives to their localities about the development of Bangladesh and maintain communications with them.

Coming down heavily on the BNP, the PM said today they raise questions about the election and human rights, but the human rights were violated at every step during their regimes.

"They are also the champions of vote rigging. Starting from incorporation 1.23 crore fake voters in the electoral roll, there was no misdeed they did not commit."

Bangladesh today, she said, has achieved social development thanks to the continuation of the democratic system since 2009, she said.

Hasina, also the AL president, said the BNP tried time and again to disrupt the democratic system by unleashing arson attacks and killings and imposing blockade. "I think the blockade the BNP once imposed [during the 2014 election] is still there. They didn't withdraw it."

She said her government has allowed opening three banks and taken other steps for the welfare of the Bangladeshi expatriates.

Praising them, Hasina said they always stand by Bangladesh at its critical juncture.

Meanwhile, the premier reached Washington DC on Saturday evening, wrapping up her official visit to New York where she attended the 77th United Nations General Assembly.

She is scheduled to return home on October 4.