Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said the leaders of BNP do not understand the generosity shown by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“The BNP leaders do not understand the generosity that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has shown over the holding of BNP rallies and meetings,” he told a discussion.
The AL organised the discussion at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre here, marking the 47th death anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Mourning Day.
Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed all the AL men not to create obstacles to holding the rallies of BNP.
“Leader (Sheikh Hasina), we understand the meaning of your generosity, but they (BNP leaders) don’t understand that,” he added.
The AL general secretary said: “They say you (the premier) are doing this under the pressure of foreigners. A slogan is chanted from London and it is reflected in Paltan. What slogan? Take back Bangladesh….Bangladesh became world champion in graft five times in a row. Where will they go by taking back?”
“Overcoming the uneven path of crisis, Bangladesh is maintaining stability under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the country is still progressing,” he said.
“We still have the foreign exchange reserve of US$ 40 to 42 billion…in Bangladesh, now the rickshaw pullers also talk about the reserve. Sri Lanka has run out of its reserves. Pakistan’s reserves are at the bottom. Because of this, they (BNP leaders) also see nightmares about Bangladesh,” he said.
Urging the AL leaders and workers not to get confused by paying heed to rumours, Quader said Bangladesh will neither be Sri Lanka nor Pakistan as this is the country of Bangabandhu, heroes and Sheikh Hasina.
Calling upon them to stay united and keep the party organised, he said: "If we can proceed as per our leader's instructions, we will be able to reach the port of victory again in the next elections. The Awami League has everything. There is no shortage of good people here. Just stay united. None can halt the AL's victory".
Stressing the need for forming a commission to unmask the masterminds behind the Bangabandhu killing, the AL general secretary said the law minister told that the commission would be constituted, but not just in words, the country's people want to see its implementation.
"There are more mysterious people involved in this brutal killing. The nation does not know them...the truth should be revealed. We must know the truth," he said.
Quader said military dictator Ziaur Rahman rewarded the killers of Bangabandhu and sent them to Thailand, and they were given jobs in Bangladesh missions abroad.
Zia violated the country's Constitution by including the Indemnity Ordinance in its fifth amendment as he wanted to give constitutional legitimacy to the killers.
Chaired by AL President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the meeting was addressed, among others, by AL advisory council members Amir Hossain Amu and Tofail Ahmed, presidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman and Kamrul Islam, joint general secretary and Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and liberation war affairs secretary Mrinal Kanti Das.
AL publicity and publication secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan Golap moderated the meeting.
