By Mizan Rahman/Dhaka
Branding Khaleda Zia as the ‘queen of destruction’ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that the BNP chairperson’s dream of assuming power would never come true as the people of Bangladesh are now on the track of sure prosperity towards becoming a middle income nation by 2021.
“We create and she ruins” said the prime minister when she referred to the dream of Khaleda Zia, who wants to go to power on the dead bodies of innocent people with a failed attempt to involve the people in her so-called movement.
Hasina, also the Leader of the House, said this while delivering her valedictory speech in the parliament as the fifth session of the parliament was prorogued.
“We want to let the people live in prosperity and with peace as the country is now moving forward to its coveted goal,” she said expressing her firm commitment to stand beside the people in building Bangladesh as a middle income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041.
Hasina said the 10th parliament, held on January 5, was constituted by overcoming various odds and obstacles created by the BNP-Jamaat alliance. The people didn’t support them to foil democracy, she said.
The 10th parliament is somewhat better in terms of its good democratic practice, she said, adding that the opposition, unlike in the ninth parliament, is now discharging its constructive responsibilities in the House.
“In the ninth parliament, the opposition never played a constructive role in the parliament as the Leader of the Opposition at that time did not give any importance to the House,” she said.
Hasina appreciated the role of the opposition in the 10th parliament saying, now the people do not hear filthy language and badmouthing from members of parliament.
The prime minister said the ultimate goal of her government is to ensure welfare of the nation. All members of parliament should perform with responsibility in this regard, she said.
Hailing the president for his well-thought out inaugural speech delivered in the first session, the prime minister said his speech had truly reflected the real picture of the socio-economic development of the country.
“The president in his speech perfectly articulated the country’s development and Bangladesh’s emergence as a role model of development in the world,” she said.
In her more than one hour speech, Prime Minister Hasina criticised a section of the people under the banner of ‘Shata Nagorik Committee’ saying, how the conscious people can support the petrol bomb attacks and killing innocent people in the name of movement.
She also expressed her firm commitment to complete the trial of the war criminals saying, the trial would continue to free the nation from the decades old stigma.
She said no country like Bangladesh allowed anti-liberation force in the politics. Trial of the war criminals must be completed to deliver justice to the relatives of the martyrs of independence as well as materialising the aspiration of the people believing in the spirit of War of Liberation, she said.
She said Bangladesh is struggling to be free from hunger and poverty even after 45 years of the independence. Anti-liberation force killed Bangabandhu and four national leaders as they retrieved the country from the ruin of war in a very short period and was moving forward in a quick pace to prosperity.
She blamed former president Ziaur Rahman for rehabilitation of the anti-liberation force in politics saying, Zia brought many war criminals to the country from abroad and freed the criminals who were in jail for their crimes against humanity in 1971.
Pointing out the High Court order declaring the regime of Zia as illegal, the prime minister said the verdict is a big lesson for those who like to play a game with the democratic rights of the people.
Hasina said Bangladesh came to existence at the cost of huge sacrifice to realise some basic expectations. Her government is making relentless efforts to fulfill those expectations, she said.
She said the poverty rate declined to 24% during the period of her government in office since 2009. Now there is no crisis of food in the country, she said adding her government aimed for further reducing the poverty to 10% during the remaining period of the present tenure.