People of all religious faiths will live together with equal right: PM

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DHAKA, Dec 16, 2020 (BSS) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today
reiterated her call to the countrymen to stay firm on non-communal
spirit of the War of Liberation, saying people of all religious faiths
will live in the country with equal right.

“All people in combine have made the country independent in
exchange of their blood . . . Freedom of practicing religious ritual
of each faith will be remained as we believe in this spirit and Islam
also teaches us that lesson,” she said.

The premier was addressing a Victory Day discussion organized by
Awami League at its central office in city’s Bangabandhu Avenue. She
chaired the discussion joining virtually from her official residence
Ganabhaban.

Sheikh Hasina said, “I will say that the people of all religions–
Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist– will live in this soil that
means we will not neglect other religions as majority Muslim.”

She also mentioned that “Our Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) has
given us that lesson.”

“I will tell all of you that any situation has to be tackled with
patience. We will only think about how much we could contribute to the
country rather than what others say and then we can make the right
decision and do the right thing.”

She said intellectuals of the country were killed on the eve of the
final victory in 1971 so nobody was remained to propel Bangladesh
ahead.

Mentioning that she herself also lost near and dear ones in the war,
the premier said that is why she gets pain from those who lost their
relatives. “Many did not find the bodies of their near and dear ones
after the killing of intellectuals that began from December 9 in
1971,” she added.

Again after the killing of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 along with most of his family members,
many leaders and activists of Awami League, Chhatra League and other
organizations were killed whose bodies were also not found, she
observed.

Sheikh Hasina added: “Tortured is still continued… we have
witnessed arson attack, militancy, terrorism and others.”

Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges
Minister Obaidul Quader, MP, gave the opening speech.

AL Presidium Members Begum Matia Chowdhury, MP, Dr. Muhammad Abdur
Razzaque, MP, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman, AL Joint
Secretary and Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, Joint Secretary A
F M Bahaiddin Nasim, Organizing Secretary Mirza Azam, MP, AL Central
Committee Member Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya Bir Bikram, AL Dhaka
South Unit President Abu Ahmed Mannafi and AL Dhaka North Unit
President Sheikh Bazlur Rahman also spoke.

AL Publicity and Publication Secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan Golap, MP,
moderated the discussion from the Ganabhaban end.

Extending thanks to the party men for standing beside the people of
the country during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sheikh Hasina urged the
Awami League leaders and activists to strengthen the party and spread
the ideology of the Father of the Nation to the mass people.

About UNESCO’s international award to be given in honor of
Bangabandhu, she said, the organization announced the prize in the
name of the Father of the Nation although his name was tried to erase
from the history by the defeated forces. “I think this is a great gift
for the Bangali nation in the birth centenary of Bangabandhu,” she
added.

It has been decided to establish “UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize” in the field of the
creative economy to promote creative industries that provide youths,
women and migrants with sustainable jobs globally.

Sheikh Hasina reiterated her call to the people of the country to
follow the health guidelines properly in this fresh surge of Covid-19.

The government, she said, has already signed a deal to procure
Covid-19 vaccine once it is available and hoped Bangladesh will get it
soon. The primer said the government wants to keep up the pace of the
country’s current progress, and urged all to stay safe and follow the
health instructions to avoid coronavirus infections.

“The government is discharging its duties . . . it has provided
stimulus packages and extended necessary support to the people as it
was urgently needed to maintain the lives and livelihoods,” she added.

Alongside taking the initiative to provide housing to homeless
people in “Mujib Borsha”, Sheikh Hasina said her government has
already illuminated 99 percent houses in the country.

The premier said, “Awami League’s job is to serve the people and we
are providing service which will be continued in future.”

She said Awami League can pull the country towards development due
to following the ideology and footsteps of the Father of the Nation.

The head of the government on Victory Day also remembered the
support and contribution of different countries and their people to
the War of Liberation and post-independence period.