Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Hasina yesterday warned of tougher actions against any attempt to create disorder in the name of politics under orchestrated plots like that of the 2015 one, staged by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
“It was the wrong decision on the part of Khaleda Zia to boycott the general election in 2014.
A political party must pay for wrong decisions,” she said while addressing a discussion organised by the ruling Awami League marking ‘jail killing day’ at Krishibid Institute in Dhaka.
Sheikh Hasina, also the president of Awami League, said people of the country resisted them in 2015 when they tried to vent the anger for their blunder on the people and “in future people will resist any such attempt (as well)”. The premier said BNP and anti-liberation forces plotted to send the Awami League into oblivion by killing Bangaabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, four other national leaders and thousands of party leaders and workers in 1975 and afterwards.
“But, they failed to do it as the roots of Awami League lie with the people of the country,” she said.
“In the past, many quarters tried to destroy Awami League, but failed.
They will not be successful in doing so in future as well,” she said.
On this day in 1975, four national leaders – Bangladesh’s first prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed, Syed Nazrul Islam, AHM Kamruzzaman and captain Monsur Ali, who led the War of Liberation in 1971, were brutally killed in captivity inside the Dhaka Central Jail.
The meeting, chaired by Sheikh Hasina hersef, observed one minute silence in memory of father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, martyrs of August 15 and the four national leaders.
Paying rich tributes to the four national leaders, the prime minister said November 3 is an another day of shame for the nation with prominent national leaders being brutally killed inside the prison in an unprecedented manner to stop the pro-liberation movement coming back to power.
“Anti-liberation forces killed Bangabandhu to take revenge for their defeat in the War of Liberation while the four national leaders were killed so that the pro-liberation force can never come to power in future,” she said.
Describing Bangabandhu’s murder and the jail killing in 1975, Sheikh Hasina said Ziaur Rahman was directly involved with Khandakar Mushtaque in masterminding the carnage, which came to light in the confessional statement given by the killers in the world media.
She said Bangladesh had to witness 19 coup attempts as the outcome of illegal capture of power by Zia and Mushtaque which affected the country’s armed forces most.
“Zia hanged many military officers who did not even know what was their offence,” said Sheikh Hasina adding that such killings happened repeatedly in the armed forces.
Apart from rehabilitating all anti-liberation elements who opposed Bangladesh’s independence, the prime minister said Ziaur Rahman was the kingpin who allowed communal politics in the country which Bangabandhu declared illegal through Articles 12 and 38 of the constitution.
“By doing this Ziaur Rahman betrayed millions of martyrs,” she said.
The premier said it sounds very sarcastic when BNP claims that Zia restored democracy after taking power.
“How can a sitting army chief contest the election for presidency and how can the army chief float a political platform,” she asked.
Sheikh Hasina added: “Instead Ziaur Rahman introduced ‘curfew democracy’ by enforcing nationwide curfew during his whole regime, making the whole country into a prison.”
She said the process of formation of the BNP was certainly illegal as it was constituted by Zia by capturing power illegally.
Sheikh Hasina lambasted the BNP chairperson for laundering her black money saying she is now even afraid of appearing in the court as she has misappropriated money from orphans.
She accused the BNP of snatching away the rights to bread and the vote from the people and said the party had plotted to rig the vote and manipulate elections.
She asked BNP leaders to look back when they express suspicions about a free and transparent election.
“How can we forget the incidents of killing, torture and intimidation perpetrated by BNP-Jamaat from 2001 to 2006?” she asked saying there was no part of the country which did not experience their brutality.
Pointing out the advancement of Bangladesh under the guidance of Bangabandhu after Liberation, she said the Father of the Nation was killed when Bangladesh’s economic growth had shot up to 7%. The death of Bangabandhu stopped the progress of the whole country except those close to the centre of power and for 21 years progress of Bangladesh remained stagnant and people were exploited and oppressed, she said.