Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has criticized BNP for “nomination trade” and also for plotting to foil or rig the 11th general election.
Sheikh Hasina said this while addressing election campaign rallies in Rajshahi, Joypurhat, Narail and Gaibandha through video conferencing from her Sudha Sadan residence at Dhanmondi on Thursday afternoon, reports BSS.
She said, “BNP did nomination business ahead of the elections and that’s why they are now facing intra-party conflict.”
She said BNP has given nominations to 3-4 candidates against each of the parliamentary seats and then it called ‘auction’.
“Calling auction was meant for those who paid the highest amount of money would get the party ticket, and in this way, they did the nomination business,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League president, added, “The BNP leaders and workers are now engaged in clashes among themselves. They are setting fire to their own offices and vehicles and then putting blame on others.”
Pointing out that Awami League never did business with party nominations, she said, “As a big party, Awami League has many nomination seekers from each of the constituencies, but the party has picked single candidate for each one.”
“We conducted several surveys two years after the last general elections and we’ve selected our party candidates based on those surveys.”
PM says BNP plots to foil polls
The prime minister said, “BNP is hatching another plot; they will make ‘Mujib Coat’ and badges of Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League. Wearing those they will create trouble (in polling centres) or rig votes and then put the blame on us.”
Sheikh Hasina observed that BNP remained absent from normal poll campaign and they are now busy in hatching conspiracies. “I also heard that they are printing fake ballot papers to rig polls and we’ve to save the voting rights of the people from this plot.”
“They’re planning to either foil or rig the polls,” she said.
She further said, “The country is witnessing massive support in favour of ‘Boat.’ Our mothers and sisters as well as the youth have taken to the streets massively in favour of boat.”
The prime minister also said, “We’ll develop the country further by utilizing the strength of the youth and through it Bangladesh will be more prosperous and will become a ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by Bangabandhu.”
She also expressed her gratitude to the people of Rajshahi for electing the Awami League candidate as the mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC).
PM urges people to re-elect AL
Sheikh Hasina urged the people to re-elect her government to celebrate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020 and the golden jubilee of the country’s independence in 2021 amid massive festivity.
Briefly describing various development projects undertaken over the last ten years, she said that once the northern areas of the country were infamous for Monga (seasonal famine). “But there is no Monga now, we have been able to eradicate this by implementing various development projects in the region,” she said.
Recalling the BNP-Jamaat misrule from 2001 to 2006, she said, “The BNP-Jamaat nexus harboured militancy and terrorism and created ‘Bangla Bhai’ at that time.”
The prime minister accused the BNP-Jamaat of burning 500 innocent people to death through arson attacks and torching schools, land offices, power plants, buses, trucks, CNGs to foil the last parliamentary elections held in 2014.
She also urged the countrymen to reject the anti-liberation forces in the upcoming polls and said they will ruin the country and halt all development works if they come to power again.
Sheikh Hasina also introduced the Awami League and grand alliance candidates of the four districts to the people present at the rallies through video conferencing.
Besides the candidates, local Awami League leaders spoke at the rallies.
