Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said Bangabandhu's dream was to build a Bengal of Gold. I have been doing the unfinished works left by my father. If Bangabandhu remained alive, Bangla-desh would be more developed and prosperous. The birth centenary of Bangabandhu will be celebrated in 2020. We will make the country free from hunger and poverty before his birth centenary.
She said when Awami League came to power, the arrangement for food, shelter, education and healthcare services was made and the socioeconomic condition of the rural people developed side by side with removing disparity between the rich and poor. "Only Awami League could do it and the people would remember it in future also. So I would like to urge the countrymen to give opportunity to the Awami League to serve them time and again," she added.
Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League President, said this while laying the foundation stone of the central office of the party at 23 Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital yesterday morning. Pointing out that Bangladesh and Awami League is complementary to each other, the prime minister said the party has put Bangladesh on a dignified position in the world. "We want that this seat is made permanent, more developed and prosperous," she said.
AL General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader also spoke at the function. Senior leaders of the party including Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, AL Presidium Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Awami League Presidium Member Advocate Sahara Khatun, Joint Secretaries Dr Dipu Moni and Jahnagir Kabir Nanak and other central leaders of the party were present on the occasion.
The prime minister renewed her vow to build Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous country, saying that the goal would be achieved by the Awami League. "Only Awami League could develop the country further," she said. The Awami League chief said Bangladesh earned dignity in the world and achieved 7.24 GDP growth. "We will have to keep up this dignity," she said, urging the countrymen to reelect her party for continuing the existing pace of development.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is now an "emerging sun" in the world and it is advancing and continuously moving forward despite various sorts of conspiracies. "There is no dearth of collaborators, cohorts, bootlickers and sycophants of the anti-liberation forces. They hatched many plots in the past and they would do it future also. But we have to move ahead thwarting these conspiracies," she said.
Referring to the grisly grenade attack on the Awami League rally on August 21 in 2004, Sheikh Hasina said 22 AL leaders and workers including Ivy Rahman were killed in the attack. "Such incidents were staged repeatedly in the country," she added.
The prime minister directed the leaders and workers of Bangladesh Awami League to build up themselves with the ideals of Bangabandhu and serve the people and country. "Whatever you got and whatever you didn't get it is not a big thing, rather whatever you deliver to the people is the big thing," she said.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangabandhu never thought what he got and what he didn't get. We also never thought what we got and what we didn't get and we built ourselves in the ideology of the great leader.
She said the Father of the Nation struggled his whole life to ensure overall development of the people and fulfill their basic rights. He gave us an independent country and a separate identity in the world community," she added.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangabandhu is the only leader who resigned from the post of a minister to reorganize his party and he announced six point demands which was ultimately one point demand for independence.
The prime minister said Bangabandhu within three and a half years of independence established all necessary institutions suitable for an independent country and constructed infrastructure along with rebuilding the war-ravaged country.
"Bangabandhu is the only leader who was able to return back the allied force from Bangladesh to India within three months of independence. Bangladesh would have been turned into a developed and prosperous country had Bangabandhu gotten another ten years of time," she said.
Sheikh Hasina said ill efforts were made to erase the name of Bangabandhu, but those were not successful. "The victory of truth is a must as it is everlasting...truth can never be suppressed, it is proven truth worldwide," she said.
The prime minister described the 1996-2001 term of her government as a golden era of Bangladesh and said during the period people of the country for the first time understood that the government is for serving the people. She said during 2009 to 2017 tremendous development was made in all sectors including economy, social and cultural fields.
Earlier, the prime minister laid the foundation stone of the 10-storey office building by unveiling the plaque. A munajat was offered on the occasion. The 10-storey building will have offices of the Awami League and its associate bodies as well as conference hall, seminar room, digital library, VIP lounge, canteen, journalist lounge and a dormitory.
Separate rooms will be there for the president and general secretary of the party, while the entire building will be connected with Wi-Fi facilities.Awami League Presidium Member and Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain will perform main responsibility for constructing the building.
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