Join JS for sake of democracy

Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina yesterday said she wanted to sit with all the political parties who were invited to the Gono Bhaban for pre-polls dialogues.

She was speaking at a joint meeting of the Awami League Advisory Council and the Central Working Committee at the party's Bangabandhu Avenue central office in the city.

The PM said she wanted to meet the parties as she sought to run the country in consultation with all, said meeting sources. “I will invite them some day and take recommendations from them,” an AL central leader quoted her as saying.

Hasina also urged the BNP MPs-elect to join parliament for the sake of democracy and to utilise the opportunity for their “return to constructive politics”, reports UNB.

“The BNP should join parliament for the sake of democracy accepting its polls defeat,” she said.

She asked the BNP high-ups to take the right decision to practice democracy considering the status of the party, including “lack of proper leadership, anti-independence destructive politics, organisational weakness and nomination trading”.

“They [BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront] have to accept the polls defeat as they were incapable of picking their leader and lost people's support due to politics of killing. The BNP lost the election because of running the party by a fugitive leader,” she said.

Yesterday, Hasina also asked her party leaders to take initiatives to strengthen the AL.

She also assured the central AL leaders, who were deprived of party nominations in the December 30 national election, of evaluating them, said party insiders.

Hasina said the most notable aspects of the December 30 polls was the enthusiasm of voters, especially of the youths, new voters and women, in casting their votes.

She mentioned that the election was very much peaceful although BNP-Jamaat alliance “snatched ballot papers and boxes in some places and hatched conspiracies to foil the election”.

“But they failed and the BNP suffered defeat in the election...this is their failure... they have to blame themselves for this.”

The PM said although the BNP suffered the defeat due to “lack of leadership”, the scenario might have been better had they not “indulged in nomination trade”.

Expressing gratitude to the people for having confidence in the AL once again, Hasina said this victory has increased the party's responsibility to the people a lot.

“We've only one thing [in mind] that we've to implement all our development programmes to improve the socioeconomic conditions of the people. We've to think what type of programmes we would take up to improve the lifestyle of the people.”

The PM said the government would celebrate the golden jubilee of independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from March 2020-March 2021 locally and internationally.

She thanked the people to give the AL the opportunity to celebrate the two big events staying in the government.

About the government's future plan, she said rural people would get urban facilities. “The country's socioeconomic condition is improving and it will continue. The income disparity will be reduced, the fate of the grassroots people will be improved...we're taking programmes keeping these issues in mind.”

Hasina hoped the peaceful situation would prevail in the country and Bangladesh would march forward by maintaining peace.