Bangladesh Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday called upon the fresh voters to vote for ‘boat,’ symbol in the upcoming January-7 national election for the sake of continuation of the country’s progress.
“I would like to request the first-time and fresh voters to cast votes for the boat symbol so that the advancement of Bangladesh would continue,” she said.
The AL chief was addressing a mammoth election rally at Kalkini Syed Abul Hossain University College ground in Madaripur.
Reiterating that BNP is a terrorist party and Jamaat is a party of war criminals, Sheikh Hasina questioned what rights they have to do politics here in Bangladesh as they kill and burn people. “They are a party of killers,” she said.
She said Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia and Tarique Zia are killers. “No reign of these killers will be there anymore in this country. They will be tried on murder charges one day as they killed so many people in Bangladesh by giving orders,” she said.
The AL president asked the people to cast their votes in the beginning hours of the balloting, going to the polling stations in the morning for the sake of large turnout of voters in the election.
“Today an international conspiracy is on against Bangladesh. They want to play ducks and drakes with Bangladesh. But we won’t let it be done,” she said.
Talking about the false corruption allegations in the Padma Bridge project, the allegation was brought when Syed Abul Hossain was the communication minister. “Today we’ve constructed the Padma Bridge with our own finances,” she said, praying for the salvation of the departed soul of Syed Abul Hossain.
The prime minister said the power of youths means the progress of Bangladesh. “We want to build the young generation as the smart and skilled youth force,” she said.
About her party’s Vision 2041 to turn the country into a Smart Bangladesh, she said, “We’ll build skilled manpower which means a smart population and the government , economy and society will be smart by 2041.”
Focusing her government's success, the premier said today’s Bangladesh has changed in the last 15 years. Bangladesh has today witnessed development in every sector from economy to infrastructures, social safety net, education and health. “Bangladesh is now a changed Bangladesh,” she said.
In the event, local MP Abdus Sobhan Miah (also known as Golap) presented honourary crests to Bangabandhu’s two daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana.
The AL chief introduced three AL candidates -- Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury in Madaripur-1, Shajahan Khan in Madaripur-2 and Abdus Sobhan Golap in Madaripur-3— with the participants of the grand rally and sought votes for them in the January-7 election.
AL presidium member Shajahan Khan, AL joint secretary general AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Abdus Sobhan Miah, among others, spoke at the rally presided over by Kalkini Upazila AL unit vice president Abul Kalam Azad.