http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/national/23662.htmlThe Awami League and its front organisations celebrated the party's 62nd founding anniversary through various programmes across the country on Thursday.
Marking the day, the organisation hoisted the national and party flags, placed wreaths at Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's portrait, held discussions and cultural programmes.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, also president of the Awami League, addressed a discussion at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre on the occasion.
Sheikh Hasina said all but her party which had come to power since the independence plundered national wealth.
The discussion was attended by leaders of AL and allied parties.
Hasina laid wreaths at the mural of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at Dhanmondi at 7:30am, paying tribute to the founding president of the country.
Awami League leaders, including Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Obaidul Quader, Abul Kalam Azad and Mahbubul Alam Hanif, were with the party chief when she placed the wreath on behalf of the party.
Later, leaders and activists of city AL and its associated bodies placed wreaths at the portrait of Shikh Mujib.
The celebrations began with hoisting the national and party flags atop all party offices across the country at sunrise.
In the evening, a cultural programme was held in front of the party's central office on Bangabandhu Avenue.
On the eve of the AL 62nd founding anniversary, president Zillur Rahman and prime minister Sheikh Hasina gave separate messages.
The Awami League was founded as the Awami Muslim League in Dhaka this day in 1949, by some breakaway Muslim League leaders. The word 'Muslim' was later dropped from the name to turn it into a secular organisation.
The party was in the forefront of all democratic movement and spearheaded the autonomy movement in the sixties through the historic six-point programme that culminated in the war of independence in 1971.
The party formed the first government of independent Bangladesh and was in power till August 1975. Mujib declared a state of emergency and later assumed presidency after the parliament had decided to switch from the parliamentary to the presidential form of government. Mujib also renamed the Awami League as the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BKSAL) and banned all other parties.
After 21 years, the Awami League won the elections in 1996 and formed the government. The party won only 62 out of the 300 parliamentary seats in 2001 elections.
The Awami League won the national elections on December 29, 2008 with support from its alliance partners.
Source : New Age
