Dhaka, Sept 12 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday told Parliament that the Awami League government is doing nothing like repression and torture as the BNP-Jamaat clique had unleashed on them during their tenure.   “We had also been subjected to repression by BNP and Jamaat as those who are now in opposition (Jatiya Party) were repressed and tortured. We’re doing nothing to them compared to that (repression and torture carried out by BNP-Jamaat). We’re busy building the country,” she said.   The Prime Minister made the remarks in her valedictory speech at the 4th session of the 11th parliament, which was prorogued on Thursday night.   She said her government spends time for the welfare of the country’s people.       Sheikh Hasina said the government has ensured free democratic practices for all. “We’ve made practices of democracy free for all politically.”   She said the government has been taking the country forward with relentless work to attain economic emancipation. “We’re making the country self-reliant economically."     Now Bangladesh needs not to beg to anyone for formulating the national budget. “We can give the national budget with our own resources,” the Prime Minister said, adding that her government increased the size of budget by five times.   She said Bangladesh has been able to draw the attention of the whole world by attaining unprecedented development in the last one decade.   Noting that Bangladesh has made a turnaround economically in just one decade, Hasina said the country is now the second largest economy in South Asia, while the 13th in Asia and the 30th largest economy in the world. “InshAllah, we’ll move ahead further."    She said Bangladesh has been able to achieve 8.1 percent GDP growth in the last fiscal year.     Bangladesh has been able to accelerate the economic growth over the last one decade as the government worked sincerely for the wellbeing of people, the PM said.   The Prime Minister said the government is making people free from the grip of poverty through expanding the social safety net.

The grassroots people are now enjoying benefits from the government’s measures taken to improve their living standard, she said.

Sheikh Hasina, the Leader of the House, urged MPs to oversee the implementation of development work being carried out by different ministries in their respective areas. “You need to pay attention whether the development projects are being implemented properly. If you oversee those properly, the development work will be done in a good manner and thus the development of the country will accelerate,” she said.