Govt showing utmost patience: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her government is showing utmost patience to make BNP leader Khaleda Zia understand the consequences of her destructive politics and killing of innocent people.

She said Khaleda Zia is giving directives from her office to her party leaders across the country to continue the killing and petrol bomb attacks. Every miscreant behind the incidents of arson and petrol bomb attack belongs to BNP, Jamaat or their student and youth fronts.

"So it's a matter of time when the BNP leader will face trial for those killings side by side punishment in the ongoing corruption cases," Sheikh Hasina said while addressing a big rally at Suhrawardy Udyan here this afternoon.

Bangladesh Awami League organized the rally marking March 7 of 1971, commemorating the historic public address by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in which he called Bengali people for waging all out struggle against Pakistani rulers.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who presided over the rally as the president of Bangladesh Awami League, criticised the so-called intellectuals who are reluctant to hold Khaleda Zia responsible for the current political violence, saying, those who would try to protect the killers would be charged with aiding and abetting the killers and bomb attackers.

She said Bangladesh would certainly go ahead defying the bomb attacks and orchestrated conspiracy of BNP and anti-liberation forces and none would be able to deviate the nation from its cherished goal of development.

"We will not tolerate the continuation of the rampage. It's a matter of time. Begum Zia will not only face the corruption charges, she will have to face charges of killings for giving directives," the Prime Minister said.

Party's Advisory Council member Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, presidium member Matia Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Mohammad Nasim, president of Dhaka City unit MA Aziz, general secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, joint secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, addressed the rally, among others.

Publicity Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud and Deputy Publicity Secretary Asim Kumar Ukil conducted the rally attended by a large number of Awami League and its front organizations from across the city in processions.