The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Tuesday said that the people who had looted funds meant for orphans through Zia Foundation and misappropriated public money could never work for welfare of the people.
Speaking at a discussion marking the National Mourning Day, Hasina, also the president of the Awami League, castigated the opposition leader Khaleda Zia for celebrating a 'fake birthday' on August 15, the day the country's founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated.
She also said that unbridled corruption by the previous Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government was responsible for the bad shape of the road network, power crisis and other problems. She said her government was trying to tackle the situation.
The AL organised the discussion at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in observance of the 36th anniversary of death of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
'They [BNP] looted the fund of Zia Foundation brought from abroad in the name of orphans. Her [Khaleda] sons were involved in money laundering. How can they work for the welfare of the country,' said the prime minister.
Hasina said the BNP chairperson started celebrating a 'fake birthday on August 15 since 1996 and added that that only a person of low mentality could make fun of the National Mourning Day. She said that Khaleda's celebrating the fake birthday on the National Mourning Day was nothing but an expression of her solidarity with the killers of Mujib.
She said Ziaur Rahman had rewarded the killers of Bangabandhu by giving them jobs [in the country's missions] abroad and gave them indemnity. 'But the trial of the killers could not be stopped.'
'The BNP called hartal on the day the verdict in the Bangabandhu murder case was pronounced and tried to stand in the way of the trial,' said Hasina.
Admitting that the country was experiencing some problems, she said her government was trying to solve them.
'It is true there are problems in the country, including bad shape of roads and highways, power crisis and price hike and the government is trying to tackle them to ease the people's suffering,' she said.
Hasina also said that the government was giving subsidy to power, food and agriculture sectors and giving 10 kilograms of rice free of cost to the poor in the month of Ramadan.
Presided over by AL presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, its general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, presidium member Matia Chowdhury, advisory council member Suranjit Sengupta, Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president Hasanul Haq Inu, Samyabadi Dal general secretary Dilip Barua and Dhaka University vice-chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique addressed the discussion, among others.
Source : New Age
