PM Hasina: We don't want to see bloodshed

Seeking votes for Awami League in the next parliamentary election to help continue development, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that her party does not want to see any bloodshed in the country. "We do not want to see any bloodshed in Bangladesh, which will become a developed and prosperous country...it will march forward," she said on Sunday while addressing a rally at Jessore Eidgah Maidan. Sheikh Hasina, also the ruling party president, urged the voters to give their mandates in favour of Awami League-endorsed candidates in the next general polls the way they did in the previous one. "And give the chance to serve you again," she said.

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Terming the BNP-Jamaat clique as synonymous with murder, torture, militancy and terrorism, the Awami League president said the people enjoy peace and security whenever Awami League comes to power. "We want peace and development in the country and that is our prime task," the Sheikh Hasina said. Chaired by Awami League's Jessore district unit President Shahidul Islam Milon, the rally was addressed by Presidium Member Pijush Kanti Bhatacharya, Dipu Moni, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, and Jessore 3 MP Kazi Nabil Ahmed, among others. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina waves at the rally at Jessore Eidgah Maidan on December 31, 2017 | Focus Bangla

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Before arriving at the rally venue, the prime minister had laid the foundation stones of 27 development projects, including the Academic Building of Jessore Medical College, Waterlogging Removal Project of the Kapotakkhya River (first phase), 500-seat Shaheed Mashiur Rahman Auditorium-cum-Multipurpose Hall, the Public Library (third phase) Development Project, Jessore Police Hospital, the Waterlogging Removal and Sustainable Water Management Development Project of the Bhairab River, upgradation work on Jessore-Benapole National Highway and Jessore-Benapole (Palashbari-Rajghat portion) road, and Jessore Central Shaheed Minar. Meanwhile, a 55-year-old Awami League activist died during the rally at Eidgah Maidan, reports the Dhaka Tribune's Jessore correspondent Md Tauhid-Uz-Zaman. The deceased was identified as Mostafa, of the district's Chowgachha upazila. Parimal Chandra Kundu, deputy director of Jessore Fire Service and Civil Defence, said two people had fallen ill at the venue around 2:15pm. “They were rushed to Jessore General Hospital, but one of them was later declared dead,” he said. Quoting Mostafa's party colleagues, Dr Abdurl Rashid of the hospital said the pentagenarian died after suffering a stroke. Earlier in the day, four Awami League activists were injured in an attack by a rival group in Jessore town, when they were heading to the rally at around 12pm. The injured were admitted to the same hospital.