Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday (August 08, 2023) said that the “evil force” called BNP must be resisted to keep the values of Liberation War and democracy safe in Bangladesh. Quader made the remark after paying tribute to Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib on her 94th birth anniversary at Dhaka’s Banani graveyard this morning. Read: AL delegation to leave Dhaka for New Delhi on Sunday The road, transport and bridges minister said, “Politics of murder and conspiracy started in the country since the brutal assassinations of Bangabandhu on August 15 and four national leaders on November 3 in 1975. The grenade attack on August 21, 2004, primarily targeting Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina, was a continuation of that.” “Twenty-three lives were lost, including Ivy Rahman, in that grenade attack. BNP was behind this history of bloodbath. This party initiated the politics of murder and conspiracy in Bangladesh,” Quader added. Read: AL can achieve the impossible if it stays united: Information Minister Obaidul Quader also said Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib is one of the most remarkable women in Bangladesh’s history. “From Sheikh Mujib to Bangabandhu, from Bangabandhu to the Father of the Nation – Begum Mujib was not only Bangabandhu’s wife, she was also a dedicated partner in all the struggles,” he said. 

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged that the BNP doesn’t want election, rather the opposition party seeks to create an abnormal situation in the country. “The election will definitely be held as per the constitution. BNP knows that the people will not vote for them. Why would the people go to vote for those who were driven out due to vote-rigging? They want to destabilize the country,” she said. The premier said this on Tuesday (July 25, 2023) while addressing a community event held at her place of residence here in Rome, the capital of Italy. She was in Rome to attend the UN food summit. She questioned how the BNP can seek votes after killing people through arson violence. Read more: Time has come for a climate-smart agri-food revolution: PM Hasina tells UN food summit “They don’t want election. They lick the legs of some of their foreign lords and they want to make the people of the country suffer by them (the foreign lords). They want to hamper the ongoing development trend of the country and its people,” she said. Hasina said the BNP never wants the welfare of the people of this country. All will have to keep it in mind. “Their purpose is to catch fish in troubled water. So, their aim is to hamper this progress of Bangladesh,” she told the gathering. The PM asked all to stay united and protect Bangladesh from this evil force (BNP). “They want to push Bangladesh into an unstable situation again. So, all will have to remain alert in this regard,” she said. Read more: PM Hasina offers Nepal use of Payra port during meeting with Nepalese counterpart in Rome Stressing that Bangladesh Awami League (AL) will have to come to power to build the country as Smart Bangladesh, the AL president sought votes for her party electoral symbol ‘boat’ again in the next general election. Referring to imposition of sanction on Rab officials and visa sanction by the USA, the Prime Minister said, “By whom we've curbed terrorism and militancy, sanction is imposed on them. We can’t understand its mystery.” “Those who had not supported our liberation war want to play games with our country in various ways now. The players can’t be allowed to play. The people of the country will have to remain united,” she went on. Read more: Work to stop anti-state propaganda abroad: PM Hasina tells country's envoys The premier asked expatriate Bangladeshis to send remittance through legal channels, search foreign partners to make investment in Bangladesh particularly in ICT, food processing and small industries. She also urged the expatriates to abide by the laws of their host countries and discouraged the overseas jobseekers to migrate to the foreign countries through illegal channels. Hasina asked the expatriates to inspire their families and relatives in Bangladesh not to leave an inch of land uncultivated in order to boost food production amid the current global situation. She said her government has taken steps to improve the food storage system. The PM focused on her government's successes in different sectors and the progress the country has attained since 2009. Read more: Declaring you oppose an election tantamount to spoiling election environment: Hasan Mahmud END/UNB/MS-FF/F