PM greets people, pays homage to AL founders

Prime Minster and Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina yesterday greeted the country and party men and paid homage to the party's founders on the occasion of its 67th founding anniversary saying AL would always stay beside the people as before.

"On this day I recall with respect the greatest Bengali of all the time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . . . I recall with respect Awami League's founder president maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashni and general secretary Shamsul Haque, I recall with respect Hossain Shahid Surrawardy," she said in a statement issued to mark the anniversary.

Sheikh Hasina greeted the AL workers, leaders and supporters on the occasion alongside the countrymen.

The incumbent president of the party said the party would remain beside the people and turn the country into 'Sonar Bangla' as dreamt by the Father of the Nation.

"Awami League has a glorious role in every major and great achievement of the nation. In-sha Allah (God willing), it will remain beside the people in future too, and turn the country into Sonar Bangla in line with Father of the Nation," she said.

She said the unflinching dedication of the party's succeeding leaders and workers over the decades turned Awami League into a huge organization of mass people. 

She recalled that the party was established on June 23, 1949 at "Rose Garden" in K M Das Lane in Dhaka and said the history of the AL is closely related with the mass people's struggle for realizing their rights.

"The Language Movement in 1952, Jukta Front election in 1954, the anti-Ayub movement in 1962, restoration of peace after riots in 1964, six-point demand movement in 1966 and the mass upsurge in 1969 - all took place under the leadership of the AL," she said.

In the general elections of 1970, the people of Bangladesh gave an absolute majority to the Awami League and in continuation Bangabandhu on March 7, 1971 told the people "the struggle now was for freedom, for independence," the Prime Minister said.

She continued that on the Black Night of March 25, 1971, the Pakistani occupation forces swooped on the people and arrested Bangabandhu. 

Before his arrest, Bangabandhu had declared the country's independence the then EPR wireless.

The country achieved independence on December 16, 1971 following the Liberation War conducted under the AL government formed in Mujibnagar on April 17. 

After independence when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was busy building the nation, the assassins killed Bangabandhu and his family on August 15, 1975. 

On November 3, 1975 the four national leaders were killed in prison to make Awami League leaderless.

The Prime Minister said there were national and international conspiracies to destroy the AL, but those did not succeed. After long struggle to establish democracy, the Awami League returned to power in 1996. Then the AL run the country successfully from 1996 to 2001 and this period was the 'golden era' in the history of the nation.

The AL government turned food-deficit Bangladesh into a food-surplus country, signed Ganges water treaty with India and concluded Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) peace treaty. 

Waging a movement against the BNP-Jamaat government and facing all conspiracies of the caretaker government, the Awami League was, once again, elected to power in 2008. It was a victory for the sacrifice and patience of Awami League leaders and workers. 

In the last seven and a half years, the Awami League government carried out extensive development in all sectors. "The country's GDP growth is now 7.05 percent and poverty rate has come down to 22.4 percent while per capita income increased to US $ 1,466. The reserve has crossed US $29 billion. One and a half crore people have got employment," she said.

Padma Bridge, the premier said, was being constructed with the country's own resources.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh under the leadership of her Awami League government expanded its maritime territory by 1.19 lakh square kilometers in deep sea after landmarks victories in legal battles with India and Myanmar in international courts. 

She also listed resolution of the long-standing land boundary problem with India as one of Awami League government's major successes. 

The Awami League government, the premier said, connected Bangladesh with the highway of development while was pledge-bound to turn Bangladesh into a prosperous country by implementing 'Vision 2021' and 'Vision 2041'.

The Prime Minister called every citizens of the country to come forward to sustain this trend of development.

But, she said, evil attempts are still underway to hinder democracy and development and kill the innocent people and added that the AL government is pledge-bound to uproot these malicious conspiracies.

The Prime Minister expressed her firm conviction that the peace-loving people will resist the evil forces and foil all conspiracies.

Source: BSS.