Some people at home and abroad trying to oust AL govt: B'desh PM

Dhaka, July 5 (IANS) Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the President of Awami League, the ruling party in the country, Sheikh Hasina has said that despite her "tireless effort to secure the future of the nation, some people at home and abroad have been trying to oust the Awami League (AL) led government".

"What is the guilt of Sheikh Hasina's government? For what crimes, they want to dislodge the AL government?" she asked while addressing party leaders and activists during visit to her ancestral home in Gopalganj's Tungipara on Monday.

It was Hasina's first visit to her hometown through the Padma Bridge since its opening by her on June 25. The Prime Minister, accompanied by her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed, also offered prayer at Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's mausoleum in Tungipara.

Hasina paid tributes to Bangabandhu by placing a wreath on his mausoleum.

She reminded her party activists as well as the countrymen that the world is now going through a "critical juncture" due to the double blow of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, and reiterated her call to all to show austerity in every sector particularly in using energy like electricity.

"Each of the Awami League leaders and workers has to work for changing the mindset of doing only for oneself," she said.

The Prime Minister said that her government has been working "tirelessly to transform Bangladesh into a developed and prosperous nation -- free from poverty and hunger as envisioned by the Father of the Nation".

She asked the party leaders and activists to stand beside the people to pursue the government's move that none will remain poor, homeless and hungry anymore.

"Big countries, such as America and England, around the world are now suffering from food crisis. We're still in a good position and trying to be well. It requires help from all," Hasina asserted.

She said her government has built the Padma Bridge, given electricity to every house, giving home to landless and homeless people, and is ensuring food security for all.

Further, describing the grassroots activists as the lifeline of her party, she said, "The grassroots activists alway take right decision, and hold up the party."

She asked the party leaders to inquire about the wellbeing of every partyman and stand by them if required.

Hasina urged the party leaders to bring "every inch of land across the country under cultivation" to grow more food as Bangladesh never faces such a crisis.

She recalled the "inhuman torture on the leaders and activists of AL during the regimes of Pakistan Army President Ayub Khan and Yahiay Khan".

On her way to Tungipara, Hasina and her family members spent some time on the Padma Bridge and took a rest for a while in Jajira point's service area.

Hasina, who was first to pay the toll of the country's longest Padma Bridge during its opening, also paid the toll from and off to Dhaka.

She criticized the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other like-minded parties who came to power to "make their own fortunes". Hasina said that the AL since its foundation has been working to "give the people something instead of making their own fortune".

The Prime Minister said, "The Father of the Nation did not form the party for the lust of power and wealth, rather he did so to work for the welfare of the countrymen." So, she said, the leaders and workers of the party follow the ideal of Bangabandhu and stand beside the people.

"The power of people is the main strength. Time and again, attacks were carried out on my life. But, almighty Allah saved me so that I can do something for the wellbeing of the people of my motherland. That's why, my government had been able to construct the much-hyped Padma Bride by own funding, and carry out other development projects to ensure the country's overall development," Hasina added.

She said that the country can combat any disaster with collective efforts of all, which it (the country) has proved by successfully tackling the floods.

The Prime Minister added that Bangladesh has administered the Covid-19 vaccine to the masses free of cost "which many developed countries could not do".