DHAKA, Dec 20, 2018 (BSS) – Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina today castigated BNP for doing “nomination trade” and said it is now plotting to foil or rig the polls.
“The BNP did nomination business ahead of the elections and that’s why they are now facing intra-party conflict,” she said while addressing election rallies in Rajshahi, Joypurhat, Narail and Gaibandha through videoconferencing from her Sudha Sadan residence at Dhanmondi in the capital this afternoon.
The Awami League president said the BNP has given nominations to its 3/4 candidates in a single seat and then it called auction. “Calling auction was meant that those who will pay highest amount of money will get the party ticket, and in this way, they did the nomination business,” she said.
The prime minister said the BNP leaders and workers are now engaged in clashes among themselves. “They are setting fire to their own offices and vehicles and then putting blame on others … it’s a reality,” she said.
Pointing out that Awami League never did business with party nomination, Sheikh Hasina said that as a big party, AL has many nomination-seekers from one constituency, but the party has picked a single candidate for one seat.
“We conducted several surveys two years after the last general elections and we’ve selected our party candidates based on those surveys,” she said.
The Awami League president said BNP is hatching another plot that they will make “Mujib Coat” and badges of Awami League, Jubo League and Chaatra League. “Wearing these they will create trouble (in polling centres) or rig votes and then put blame on the Awami League,” she said.
The prime minister said the BNP is absent from normal campaign and they are now busy with conspiracies. “I also heard that they are printing fake ballot papers to rig polls and we’ve to save the voting rights of the people from this plot,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said wearing badges of boat, the BNP had created trouble in the polling centres and stuffed the ballot box in different elections earlier like city corporations, pourasabhas and Jatiya Sangsad by-polls and then blamed Awami League for these misdeeds.
The prime minister said the BNP candidates are also spreading money to win the polls. “They’ve no dearth of money as they have amassed huge wealth through money laundering, arms smuggling and embezzling orphans’ money,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the BNP leaders are lodging complaints with the Election Commission every day on one hand and are hatching conspiracies to foil the polls on the other hand. “They’re planning to either foil or rig the polls,” she said.
The prime minister said the BNP has another quality that is to put blame on others after committing misdeeds. “They’ve already torched a number of election offices of the Awami League and killed two of our workers,” she said.
Mentioning that spreading illegal money is a character of the BNP, Sheikh Hasina said: “I will tell the people as the BNP has embezzled the public money, let the public money to reach people … take the BNP money, but cast vote for boat.”
She said peace and democracy will not exist and the country will not be developed if vote is not cast for boat.
The country is witnessing massive support in favour of boat and the people are eagerly waiting to vote for the Awami League’s symbol. “Our mothers and sisters as well as the youth have taken to the streets massively in favour of the boat,” she said.
The prime minister said: “We’ll develop the country further by utilizing the strength of the youth and through it Bangladesh will be more prosperous and built as Sonar Bangla as dreamt by Bangabandhu.”
Sheikh Hasina urged the countrymen to reelect the Awami League to keep up the country’s development spree and serve the people again.
“We’ve already executed many projects in the country while many mega schemes are under implementation. So, I call upon the countrymen to continue the pace of uplift and give us another scope to serve the people by casting votes for boat, the Awami League’s election symbol,” she said.
The Awami League president also urged the people to reelect her government to celebrate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020 and the golden jubilee of the country’s independence in 2021 amid massive festivity.
“We’ve already declared 2020-2021 as Mujib Barsho. So, we want a scope to celebrate the Mujib Barsho and the golden jubilee of the independence in a befitting manner with massive festivity,” she said.
The prime minister expressed her gratitude to the people of Rajshahi for electing the Awami League candidate as the mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC).
“So I want you to elect the Awami League and Mohajote candidates in the upcoming general elections the way you elected our candidate in the Rajshahi City Corporation polls,” she said.
Mentioning that the AL government has fulfilled all its election pledges in the last two terms, Sheikh Hasina said her party never forgets its election manifesto. Sheikh Hasina she has the confidence that AL will come to power again through the votes of the common people in the month of victory.
“We will be victorious in the upcoming elections Insha Allah as we’ve confidence and trust in the people … we’ve worked for the people with the sense of our responsibility,” she said.
Briefly describing various development projects during the last ten years, she said that once the northern areas of the country were infamous for Monga (seasonal famine). “But there is no Monga now, we have been able to eradicate this by implementing various development projects in the region,” she said.
The prime minister said it is clearly seen that true development takes place in the country when the people vote for boat and Awami League forms the government. “The touch of development reaches the common people when the Awami League gets elected,” she said.
Recalling the BNP-Jamaat misrule from 2001-2006, the Awami League president said the BNP-Jamaat nexus harboured militancy and terrorism and created ‘Bangla Bhai’ at that time.
She said the BNP-Jamaat terrorists had killed huge number of opposition leaders and workers by unleashing terrorism when they were in power from 2001.
“Like that they also burnt 500 innocent people to death through arson attacks and torched schools, land offices, power plants, buses, trucks, CNGs to foil the 2014 elections,” she said.
The premier urged the countrymen to reject the anti-liberation forces in the upcoming polls and said they will ruin the country and halt all development works if they come to power.
The AL president introduced the Awami League and Mohajote candidates of the four districts to the people present at the rallies through videoconferencing.
Bangladesh national cricket team’s current ODI captain Mashrafee Bin Mortuza, who is contesting on Awami League ticket from Narail-2 constituency, exchanged views with the people of Narail from Suda Sadan through videoconferencing.
Besides the candidates, local Awami League leaders spoke at the rallies.