Taking a swipe at a section of the country’s eminent citizens who suggested the government to defer the January 5 polls, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the actors of 1/11 have become active again.
“I have seen in today’s [Sunday] newspapers that some eminent citizens have given some suggestions to us. I don’t want to say anything about them. But many of them whom we had seen after the 1/11 have now become vocal again,” she said, according to BSS.
The prime minister said: “Why their spirit was not awakened when BNP-Jamaat stopped the JSC and JDC examination by enforcing hartal.”
She said why they could not say to the opposition not to call hartal during the exams of the children. “Why they remain silent when the BNP-Jamaat terrorists kill sleeping people including the children by hurling bombs at the buses and uproot and cut trees rampantly in the name of so-called movement,” she asked.
The prime minister said this while receiving this year’s JSC and JDC exam results at her official Ganabhaban residence yesterday morning. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid and chairmen of nine education boards handed over the results to the prime minister.
About 60 prominent members of the civil society yesterday made the suggestion to the government to stop the January 5 election. They said this at a discussion jointly hosted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Ain o Salish Kendra, Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik and Transparency International Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina said the ensuing elections have reached such a stage when the eminent citizens want to stop the polls. “We will have to opt for unconstitutional way if the polls are stopped at this moment. I don’t know whether they are inviting such an unconstitutional way,” she said.
The prime minister said the remaining work of the eminent citizens are accomplished when democracy and constitutional process do not exist in the country and when those grab power unconstitutionally.
“The ‘kadar’ (importance) of the eminent citizens increases and they can move with flags at that time. This is their (eminent citizens’) consideration, I don’t see other thing,” she said.
The Prime Minister also said the eminent citizens now remained united and are giving advices and suggestions to the government about many issues. “But why they were silent when the Hefajat-e- Islam carried out rampage and burnt thousands of copies of Quran,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the eminent citizens did not say anything when the opposition leader turned down her offer for dialogue. “Why their spirit was not awakened at that time. They always wait for such a situation when they would be called and their importance will increase,” she said.
Criticizing yesterday’s call by a section of civil society members, Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said at a press conference in dhaka the so-called think tanks made the call in an attempt to create another situation like 1/11, according to UNB.