No Midterm Polls, No Talks With BNP: PM New York (UNB): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ruled out the possibility of any midterm election in Bangladesh and holding any dialogue with BNP, as nothing wrong has happened in the country after the January 5 election. The premier also dismissed the allegation of having an entente by her government with Jamaat-e-Islami that came following the recent Supreme Court verdict commuting its leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee’s death sentence to imprisonment unto death. “Why there should be a midterm election? What are the problems for which we should go for a midterm election and for whom the midterm election? Is it to put the party in power that was created by power usurper Ziaur Rahman?” she questioned. The prime minister was responding to a volley of questions from Bangladeshi journalists living in New York. Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York organised the press conference at its office on Friday. Talking about dialogue with BNP, now out of Parliament as it boycotted the January-5 national election, Hasina said she has nothing to do as per the parliamentary form of democracy for the party which is outside parliament. “What’s dialogue? With whom?” she asked. When a reporter pointed to dialogue with the opposition party, she questioned about the definition of opposition party as per parliamentary democracy. “Opposition party! Which is the opposition party? What does it mean by opposition party in a parliamentary democracy,” the prime minister asked. As a journalist said about BNP which is now outside parliament, Hasina replied: “The party which is outside parliament is outside parliament; what can I do for that?” In this connection without naming any party, the prime minister said if anyone boycotted the election, it was their decision. “It was their decision, not mine; what I can do as they decided not to take part in the election.” Hasina also said if a political party takes a wrong decision then that party has to pay for that mistake. About the reduction of Sayeede’s punishment and allegation of her government’s entente with Jamaat, she said if there is any sort of entente how there will be trial of that person. “It’s the court that takes the decision whether there’ll be a capital punishment or not.” Hasina also mentioned that the judiciary in Bangladesh is completely independent. “We can’t interfere in the judiciary. If the independent judiciary gives its verdict how there could be an entente?” she questioned. “Did I give the verdict? I didn’t give the verdict. The High Court, Supreme Court, Appellate Division gave the verdict,” the prime minister said. In this connection, Hasina said it is the Awami League government that has put the war criminals under the trial. “Did any other party take the initiative? They rather made these people ministers and allowed them to fly the national flag on their vehicles.” “Let their trial be held first who rehabilitated these elements and made them ministers as these are the same kind of criminals. Let BNP be put on trial first as they helped the war criminals to be established in the country, Hasina said. When her attention was drawn to the recent remarks of BNP leader Khaleda Zia at a public meeting in Brahmanbaria asking the ruling party leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to get ready with their passports and visas so that they could flee the country hurriedly to avert public wraths, Hasina said she never fled the country. In this connection, the prime minister said that Bangladesh is her birthplace while Khaleda Zia was born in a tea garden of Shiliguri (India). “So I dont need to take visa, she needs it.” Responding to a question regarding corruption, she said the present government is always aware about graft. In this regard, the PM pointed out that international vested quarters had tried to prove that her government was corrupt. “I’m talking about the Padma bridge. The World Bank stopped funding saying that there was a huge corruption in the project. But I threw a challenge that there was no corruption.” Describing the advancement in various sectors of Bangladesh, including the economy, power, education during the AL rule, she said had there been any corruption the country would not have been able to march forward. “Had there been corruption, how we had been able to increase the power generation from 3200MW to 11,700 MW?” she questioned. --thedailystar.net/no-midterm-polls-no-talks-with-bnp-pm-43581
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 15:17:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015