ZCZC
BSS-21
PM-DISCUSSION 3 LAST DHAKA
Sheikh Hasina said General Ershad also rewarded and patronized the killers of Bangabandhu in various ways.
She said those who grabbed power after 1975 patronized the killers and stalled the country’s development. “As a result, the lot of the people was not changed for 29 years. But it changed when the Awami League founded by Bangabandhu came to power,” she said.
The AL chief said the BNP wanted to turn Bangladesh into a failed state to make the defeated forces of 1971 happy.
The prime minister said 19 coups took place during the Ziaur Rahman’s regime and hundreds of army and air force officers and soldiers were brutally killed at that time.
“They were shot dead and hanged and they didn’t know what were there offences … it was heard that Ziaur Rahman used to put signature on the files of death sentences while eating with fork,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said their character embodies the character of a killer. “You had seen it in the August 21 grenade attack which put a tragic end to the lives of 24 Awami leaders and workers, including Ivy Rahman,” she said.
The prime minister said the BNP government did not work for changing the lot of the people and they had no attention towards it.
Highlighting Bangladesh’s development in various sectors, Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh remains No. 1 position in GDP growth, economic front and purchasing power.
“Many (ill) efforts were made and many false blames were given to hinder this advancement … but I will say one word that I’ve nothing to lose as I lost father, mother – everything,” she said.
The PM added: “I don’t do politics to gain anything and I’m involved in politics since my childhood … I saw that my father pursued politics with an ideology and he didn’t think about changing his own life.”
Describing honesty as a strength, Sheikh Hasina said anything could be said and any situation could be faced if honesty persists.
“Bangladesh has progressed (a lot) and its advancement is continuing as we worked keeping this in mind and now none can pull Bangladesh backward– it’s the reality,” she said.
Describing August 15 of 1975 as the most stigmatized day for the nation, the prime minister said the people of the country had lost their potentiality to remain alive, continue development and dignify their life through the August 15 carnage.
“But we’ve been able to restore that potentials,” she said, urging the countrymen to stay alert so that Bangladesh no more falls in the hands of the ‘hyaenas’.
BSS/SH/KU/2111 HRS