Obaidul Quader
Awami League leaders will never flee from country: Quader
Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday said the party’s leaders will never run away from the country in any hostile situation.
“BNP now asks the government to run away. They (BNP leaders) said the government will not find any escape route,” he said. “This is ridiculous.”
He was addressing at a huge public meeting organized by the Rajshahi district and metropolitan Awami League at historic Rajshahi Madrasa ground with Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the chief guest.
Also read: PM inaugurates 26 dev projects worth Tk 1,333 cr in Rajshahi
“I will not run away, If necessary, I will go to Mr. Fakhrul's house. Will you not give us shelter? If not, he has a house Thakurgaon and we will go to that house,” he said amid laughter and cheers from the audience.
Quader said the BNP leaders have a history of fleeing from the country to save their skin from public wrath.
“Before fleeing to London Tariq Rahman signed a bond that he will not do politics again,” the AL leader said adding that the convicted fugitive is now the leader of the opposition BNP.
Obaidul Quader said that he was born in this country and will die in this country.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday called upon the government to quit power immediately to avert a shocking ouster.
The BNP leader also said they want to send out a message to the government through the fresh programme and that is to step down immediately and hand over power to a caretaker government and allow the people to exercise their right to vote under a new Election Commission.
No new roads before national election: Quader
Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader has said the government will not undertake any new road construction projects until the next national election and maintenance of the existing roads will get priority.
“We have completed numerous development projects, now is the time to restore discipline on roads,” he told reporters after his meeting with the DCs at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Wednesday, the 2nd day of the 3-day DC Conference.
Deputy commissioners (DCs) have been instructed to prioritize work to restore order on the roads, said the minister.
“I told them I don’t want to construct more roads right now. Our main priority right now is road maintenance,” Quader, also the Awami League general secretary, said.
The minister said he instructed the DCs to focus on controlling movement of small vehicles like motorcycles on roads and highways.
Also read: Must maintain good relations with India: Obaidul Quader
Motorcycle movement in Dhaka city is under control now but people rarely wear helmets outside the capital, he said.
Quader asked that the secretaries to formulate policy to regulate the movement of these vehicles instead of obstructing the sources of income of the poor.
"It is DC's responsibility to control traffic jams and accidents involving these small vehicles," he added.
"I am prioritizing restoring order in road transport," he said adding that small vehicles like motorcycles, easybikes, Nosimons, and Karimons should be brought under control.
“We have built many roads and bridges. But if we cannot restore discipline, it will be all in vain. I asked for their cooperation in this regard,” he said.
BNP is preparing for major attacks and sabotage: Obaidul Quader
Awami League General Secretary and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader alleged that opposition BNP is preparing for major attacks and sabotage across the country.
"Militancy in the country seems inactive but BNP is active in disguise. Detectives have such information," he said.
He said this during an exchange of views with reporters after a meeting at Setu Bhaban in the capital on Thursday.
Read more: AL to stay on streets to prevent BNP’s anarchy: Quader
Quader said that BNP does not need to rescue democracy again as democracy has been freed long ago under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said that BNP should be banned for lying and conspiracy, not Awami League.
The AL leader said his party will remain on the streets to protect people's lives and property and continue their mass campaign and peace rally until election.
He said that Awami League does not call counter-programme as his party has no desire to clash with BNP.
Read more: If BNP comes to power 1971 spirit will vanish: Quader
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday urged Awami League to refrain from holding counter programmes on the days of BNP and other opposition parties’ programmes.
“Please do not hold any counter programmes and obstruct those. Awami League and the government have to take the responsibility if any untoward situation is created for this reason,” the BNP leader said.
Before this, the board meeting of Bangladesh Bridge Authority was held at Setu Bhaban. In the meeting, it was decided to exempt toll only to the President on all bridges including Padma Bridge.
If BNP comes to power 1971 spirit will vanish: Quader
Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday said that if BNP gets power again, there will be no spirit of Liberation War in the country.
"We cannot hand over power to BNP, which is the patron of communal forces and militancy," he said.
He made the remarks while joining a discussion meeting organised in the city by Dhaka Metropolitan South Awami League unit to commemorate the ‘Homecoming Day’ of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after Bangladesh gained victory over Pakistan in 1971. Bangabandhu returned to Dhaka via London and New Delhi on January 10 in 1972 after being freed from jail in Pakistan.
Read more: Must maintain good relations with India: Obaidul Quader
Quader said that another name for Bangladesh is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangabandhu will remain as long as this land exists, he added.
Pointing to BNP's mass sit-in programme on Wednesday, he bitterly criticised the opposition party and said 54 parties have joined hands against Sheikh Hasina.
“(But) What will the 54 parties do? They can’t do anything,” he said.
Criticising local media, Quader said he could not stay at home even for 50 days during the BNP regime.
“(Now) Two BNP leaders had been in jail for 26 days. Some media outlets are writing in a way as if they had been in jail for 26 thousand years,” he said.
Read more: Awami League ready to quash domestic, foreign conspiracies: Quader
Quader said there will be a game “against corruption, looting and misrule” of BNP.
He said that Hasina has “repaired what the BNP had destroyed while in power.”
"Sheikh Hasina inaugurated hundreds of bridges and hundreds of roads in one day. Sheikh Hasina can, only Sheikh Hasina can. Let us strengthen her hands," he said.
Dhaka Metropolitan South Awami League General Secretary Humayun Kabir presided over the meeting.
Final game to be held in January next year: Quader
Bangladesh Awami League's General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday (January 08, 2023) urged the party leaders and activists to get prepared for the next national election, noting that the final game will be held in January next year.
“The final game will be held in January next year,” he said.
He made the remarks while addressing the Jatiya Party (JP) tri-annual council at the Engineers’ Institute auditorium in the capital on Sunday afternoon.
Also Read: We don't need leaders, want smart workers: Obaidul Quader tells BCL
Mentioning his slogan ‘Game will be played’ as a kind of political humor, he said, “There will be game against corruption, drugs, conspiracy, communalism, militancy, and for the sake of protecting democracy.”
He urged the party leaders and activists to get prepared for the next election and said “Good people are not in politics these days. We have failed to make politics appealing.”
Stating that the reputation of student politics has gone, he said, “Politics will become characterless without the participation of good, honest, and bright individuals.”
Read More: BNP to get fitting response if it resorts to violence: Quader
Noting that democracy is crucial to saving Bangladesh, the Al leader also said that there is no alternative to Sheikh Hasina for continuing the country's development spree.
BNP to get fitting response if it resorts to violence: Quader
General Secretary of Awami League and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said a fitting response will be given to BNP if it tries to instigate and resort to violence in the name of “political movement”.
He made the remark while addressing the 30th conference of Road and Transport Engineers’ Association in Dhaka’s Tejgaon area as the chief guest.
Describing various achievements of the AL-government over the past 14 years, Quader said that smart road networks have to be developed to turn Bangladesh into a “smart” country.
Read more: Quader to BNP: Ditch caretaker dream, prepare for election
He said that the regulations of the Road Transport Act were published in a gazette and are being enforced.
Urging government employees to not go for unnecessary foreign trips, he said some officials go abroad on several excuses.
With the Road and Transport Engineers’ Association President Syed Moinul Hasan in the chair, AL’s Science and Technology Affairs Secretary Engineer Abdus Sabur, Chief Engineer of Road and Transport department Md Ishak and the association’s general secretary Engineer Amit Kumar Chakrabarty, among others, spoke at the programme.
Read more: Quader urges BNP not to create chaos on December 24
Obaidul Quader leaves for Singapore for health check-up
Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader left for Singapore on Monday morning for a routine health check-up.
Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, left Dhaka on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight around 8.30am for a routine health check-up at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said a press release signed by Sheikh Walid Fayez, senior information officer of the ministry.
Read more: Quader promises major remedial steps as AL smarts from polling debacles
He will return to Dhaka on January 4.
This AL leader has been suffering from chronic heart and lung problems for a long time. In 2019, three blockages were found in his coronary arteries.
Wholesale revamp underway in Rangpur AL
The ruling party Awami League on Sunday dissolved the Rangpur District unit and Metropolitan Committee of Awami League.
The dissolution was announced after the dreadful defeat and performance in the recent Rangpur city election on December 27, where the ruling party nominated candidate ranked 4th losing security money.
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader gave this information after the party meeting at Ganobhaban on Sunday (January 1) night.
Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting.
Awami League Office Secretary Barrister Biplab Barua said in a press release that Awami League President Sheikh Hasina had dissolved the current committee of Rangpur Metropolitan and Rangpur District units of Bangladesh Awami League and announced a convening committee based on the powers assigned to her according to the organization's constitution.
A convener committee was formed for Rangpur Metropolitan Awami League where Dr. Delwar Hossain was made convener and Abul Kashem as the joint convener.
Another committee was formed for district units of Rangpur Awami League where AKM Sayadat Hossain Bakul was announced as convener and Professor Majed Ali Bablu as joint convener.
Read more: Quader promises major remedial steps as AL smarts from polling debacles
Internal problems behind defeat of AL candidate in RCC election: Quader
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said on Thursday that internal problems resulted in the defeat of their party-nominated candidate in Rangpur City Corporation (RCC) election held on Tuesday.
He said this while exchanging views with journalists at the conference room of the secretariat in the capital.
“Mayor will be from the plough, the second will be the boat---most of the people had the idea over the RCC elections. But all the accounts were overturned in the result of the vote. The AL candidate lost her collateral being fourth in the race,” he said, adding that there are problems there and it was not supposed to be defeated by the margin seen.
Read more: JaPa’s Mostafizur Rahman Mostafa elected as RCC mayor for second consecutive time
Asked about the debacle of the party-sponsored candidate, he said the Jatiya Party-backed candidate was ahead in the pre-election survey and there were some problems inside them (AL).
Apart from this, it was a local government election and many factors are considered in such an election, Quader observed.
“We came to know earlier that the Jatiya Party candidate was ahead of the other candidates. The government party didn’t make any exaggeration here—for that we didn’t try to force power to go ahead and from these aspects democracy won,” he said.
Quader, also road, transport and bridges minister, said they are looking into the facts behind the debacle and going to take a tougher organisational action within one week.
Read more: Voting for Rangpur City Corporation election tomorrow
Minister Quader, who became the party’s GS for the third consecutive time, names of members of the central committee will be announced within one to two day.
Fares of metro rail are reasonable: Quader
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said that the fares of metro rail are within the reach of people.
The Minister said this while replying to questions from journalists at the Secretariat on Thursday (December 29, 2022).
“At least Tk 20 has to be paid when people ride on rickshaws. In that sense, the fare of metro rail is okay. There are differences between the metro rail of Dhaka and Kolkata. Our metro rail is better than those of Thailand and Indonesia. Dhaka’s metro rail looks good,” said Quader.
The Minister added that the rest of the work of MRT-6 will be completed within next year.“Besides, we’ll also start the works of MRT-1 and MRT-5 under the rule of the Awami League (AL) government. Both of these MRT lines will cover an area of 31 kilometres, among which 21km will be underground and 10km will be expressway.”
Read More: Dhaka Metro Rail launch: From ticketing to seating – things to know
Feasibility study is being conducted in Chattogram to find out if metro rail service can be launched there, Quader added.
Replying to a question, Quader, also the General Secretary of the ruling AL, said that his party leaders and activists will be guarding the streets on the day of Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) pre-scheduled mass procession on December 30.
“Will we eat lollypops while BNP activists create violence? We’ll be on the streets tomorrow like we were on December 10,” Quader said.
Quader further said that AL will take part in the next general elections whether EVM is used or not.“We want EVMs to be used in the next election. However, we’ll accept the decision of the Election Commission (EC) in this regard. Whatever happens, we’ll participate in the next elections,” Quader said.
Also read: Long queues seen at Agargaon station as metro rail opens to public.