Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the debt of Bangabandhu's blood will have to be repaid through materialising his dream to build a poverty- and hunger-free 'Golden Bangladesh'.

"The Father of the Nation gave away his blood for this country. We have to repay the debt of his blood through fulfilling his dream. His dream was to build a hunger -and- poverty-free Golden Bangladesh. We'll build that Golden Bangladesh, this is our pledge," she said.

The Prime Minister was addressing a programme organised by Awami League at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, marking the National Mourning Day and 44th martyrdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

AL President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the event. 

She said although the Father of the Nation is no more, his ideal still remains here. "If you do politics upholding this ideal in heart, you'll be able to gain people's trust and confidence, and honour. You'll be able to advance the country," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said people across the globe have now become astonished seeing the remarkable development of Bangladesh unleashed in the last ten years. "A nation can go forward when those who sacrificed for the independence and do politics with principle and ideal remain in power," she said, adding that when the associates of the defeated forces remain in power, that nation cannot move forward.

AL leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Matia Chowdhury, Mohammad Nasim, Advocate Abdul Matin Khasru, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman, AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Advocate Azmat Ullah Khan also spoke at the programme. 

At the outset of the meeting, a one-minute silence was observed in memory of Bangabandhu and other martyrs of the August 15 carnage.