Polls to be held under Sheikh Hasina: Quader

Staff Reporter :
Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader has categorically announced that his has a one-point demand to hold the next national polls under the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government in line with the country’s constitution.

The AL General Secretary made the announcement while addressing a huge peace rally in front of south gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque on Wednesday afternoon.
Dhaka South and North City units of Awami League organized the rally to protest against what the party said the BNP’s terrorism and anarchy.
At one point of the ‘peace rally,’ two groups of activists of the ruling party threw chairs at each other in front of the dais. Witnesses said the incident occurred around 1:30pm when a large number of AL leaders and activists arrived at the venue to join the rally.

During his speech in the rally as the chief guest, the AL General Secretary referred to Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s announcement of a one-point demand to oust the government at a rally held in front of his party’s central office in Naya Paltan on Wednesday.
Asking the party leaders and activists, the AL General Secretary said, “Do you know the news of BNP? BNP’s one point demand is the resignation of Sheikh Hasina. But our one point demand is that there will be no election without Sheikh Hasina. BNP knows that they will lose the election.”
Obaidul Quader said, “One dream of BNP has died and now it is dreaming of another. What are you (BNP leaders) dreaming of? Is it Sheikh Hasina’s resignation? They (BNP) have one-point demand. We too have one-point demand, our one-point demand is that the next election must be held as per the constitution, keeping Sheikh Hasina in power.”
Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, said that BNP leaders know that they will be defeated in the elections and they will be washed away by the popularity of AL President Sheikh Hasina.

“So they envy Sheikh Hasina…Sheikh Hasina’s mistake is that she is committed to building Smart Bangladesh by 2041,” the AL General Secretary said.
He also said foreigners want free and fair elections in Bangladesh and the AL wants it too, but any party, which would try to halt polls, will be resisted.
“They (BNP) didn’t want Padma Bridge, Metro Rail, Rooppur project even they didn’t want 100 bridges inaugurated in one day, those who don’t like the development, they don’t like Sheikh Hasina. BNP dreamt many dreams, even today they tried to bring people with kantha and pillow. Earlier there was a dream, that dream died in Gopibagh Cow market in December. BNP’s dream is stuck in the muddy water of Naya Paltan in rains,” Obaidul Quader said.

The AL General Secretary urged the party leaders and activists to maintain discipline inside the party. He also asked the party activists to get ready for final game.
Chaired by Dhaka South City AL President Abu Ahmed Mannafi, the rally was addressed, among others, by AL presidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Dr Abdur Razzaque, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya Bir Bikram, Qamrul Islam, Dr Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman, AL joint general secretary and Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif, organising secretaries Ahmad Hossain, BM Mozammel Haque, Mirza Azam, SM Kamal Hossain and Sujit Roy Nandi, Dhaka South City Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapash, Dhaka North City Mayor Atiqul Islam, AL Publicity Secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan Golap, education and human resource affairs secretary Shamsun Nahar Chapa, Dhaka North City AL President Sheikh Bajlur Rahman and Bangladesh Chhatra League president Saddam Hossain.