Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said her government is providing various allowances under the social safety-net programme.
"We've a goal to provide allowances, no one has to be dependent on it... we have to ensure that anyone must not left starving," she said.
The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating the National Social Welfare Day and Social Welfare Fair at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).
Sheikh Hasina said the government is providing such amount of money some of which is supposed to be left even after buying of 10 kilograms of rice. "We don't want to give more than this [amount], or else, one will stop going to work and sit idle at home."
She said capable persons can work and increase his or her income. "This will contribute to our socio-economic development, we've fixed the amounts of the allowances keeping that in mind," Hasina said.
Criticising a section of civil society members who are very much cynical about the amount of the social safety-net allowances, the PM said these people hardly think practically as their thoughts are centered on a hypothetical ground.
"They see everything with their hearts, but never see anything practically, I heard some of them saying that a family cannot be run with the allowance being given. But, this is not the responsibility of the government to run all the families. Everyone has to run his or her own family," she said.
The Prime Minister mentioned that it is the responsibility of the government to take care whether one is left starving and neglected. "I'm formulating a system so that no one of the country is left starving and neglected," she said.
Hasina said that any capable person must work so that he or she cannot get obsessed with an anti-work attitude. "We don't want to see building an idle nation...we're focusing on utilising everyone's skill and work potential."
State Minister for Social Welfare Ministry Nuruzzaman Ahmed, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Welfare Ministry Dr Mohammad Mozammel Hossain Social Welfare Secretary M Zillar Rahman also spoke at the programme.
After the inaugural programme, the Prime Minister witnessed a colorful cultural programme.