‘BNP a party of arsonists’

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the hand that sets vehicles on fire should be burnt in the same flame.

She also called the BNP a party of arson terrorists.

"I urge the people of the country and Dhaka city dwellers to resist them," she was quoted as saying by UNB.

The prime minister said these at a rally organised by Dhaka Division Awami League in Arambagh.

The rally was held after she inaugurated the Agargaon-Motijheel section of the metro service.

Hasina, also the president of the ruling Awami League, said burning people is like a festival for the BNP and its allies.

"Their movement means carrying out arson terrorism, killing, attacking law enforcers and destroying everything. Why would they destroy everything like this? Who gave them the right?"

The BNP and Jamaat must stop their destructive activities, she said. "If they don't stop, we know well how to make them stop.

"They set buses on fire, cars on fire. But they forget [something]: Don't they have cars? Don't they own properties? They should think about where they would go and what they would do If people started burning them. Since we do not believe in this, the people of the country are being patient. But for how long?"

HAVE TO RETURN TO VILLAGE IF YOU SHUT FACTORIES

Addressing the demonstrating garment factory workers, she said, "You will be the loser if you harm the country by vandalising factories and creating an abnormal atmosphere [in the industry]. If the factories are shuttered, you will have to return to the villages.

"The God almighty will be disappointed if you vandalise the factories that put food on your table. Whatever you need, we always listen to your demands."

"The wage commission has sat [for meetings]. Be patient. We know who are instigating them [the workers], the ones giving the orders. Whether they are at home or abroad, they will surely be punished."

'RALLY BEHIND WHOEVER GETS AL NOMINATION'

Hasina asked her party supporters to campaign for those who get the party's nomination in the coming national election.

"The schedule for the upcoming [national] election may be announced any time."

"Everyone in the party should be united, so that the BNP-Jamaat, a group of murderers, can no longer burn people to death."

The rally started around 3:00pm on Toyenbee Circular Road. But large groups of people started thronging the venue hours earlier. The event caused gridlocks in the adjacent areas.

The two mayors of the city, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and Atiqul Islam Atiq, also spoke at the programme presided over by AL City South President Abu Ahmed Mannafi.