PM: No vote for those driving country to destruction

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged people not to vote for those who have indulged in corruption, engaged in terrorism and militancy and killed people in arson attacks as they would push the country towards destruction again. Speaking at a mammoth rally in Magura on Tuesday, the prime minister also sought support and blessing of her fellow citizens to make Bangladesh a middle-income country by 2021 and a developed and peaceful nation in South Asia by 2041, reported BSS. Hasina, who is also the president of the ruling Awami League, said the next election would be held in 2019 and urged people to cast their votes in favour of her party and give them another chance to serve the nation, UNB reported. “Our only aim is to build a developed and prosperous country and we are working towards that goal.” Blasting BNP, the prime minister said Awami League was defeated in the 2001 election because of a conspiracy cooked up by Indian intelligence agency RAW and the US to take control of the country’s natural gas reserves. “Khaleda Zia had given undertaking to sell our natural gas,” she was quoted by UNB. During their regime, they also made the country a haven of militancy, terrorism and money laundering, the prime minister said. She also said the people of Magura had faced many difficulties when BNP came to power in 2001, said the BSS report. Referring to the massive vote manipulation by BNP during a by-poll in a Magura constituency in March 1994, she said BNP’s vote-rigging tendency has now become a stain on the country’s electoral history. Hasina said BNP-Jamaat is also destructive while in the opposition. In 2013, they burnt people alive to thwart war crimes trial, and in 2014, they carried out torture, killing and fire incidents indiscriminately all over the country in the name of boycotting election. The prime minister said the government is implementing various programmes, including providing free textbooks and financial assistance, to inspire students to pursue education. She urged imams, teachers and parents to keep a constant vigil so children do not get involved in militancy, terrorism and drug addiction.