Mujib Borsho: No excess in celebrations

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last night asked her party leaders and activists not to go overboard with the observance of "Mujib Borsho", the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Speaking at a meeting of the Awami League Parliamentary Party at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, she also asked them to stay away from installing any mural of Bangabandhu without the approval of the Bangabandhu Memorial Trust.

"I know what we had to go through after the killing of Bangabandhu. I also know about who played what role and who did what after his killing. So don't set up any mural of Bangabandhu without the permission the Bangabandhu Memorial Trust," a lawmaker, who was present at the meeting, told The Daily Star quoting Hasina as saying.

The government will celebrate "Mujib Borsho" from March 17, 2020 to March 26, 2021. By doing so, it aims to present Bangabandhu's life and works before the new generations.

The PM, also the Awami League chief, expressed dissatisfaction over the absence of some senior party lawmakers who sit beside her in parliament.

She said the seats of those lawmakers in the House would be rearranged by sending them far away from her seat if they didn't join parliament sessions regularly, an MP from Dhaka division quoted Hasina as saying.

"During the live telecast of the prime minister's speech [on TV], it seems most of the seats near me remain empty as many lawmakers whose seats are beside mine remain absent in parliament," an AL MP quoted the PM as saying.

Addressing the meeting, Awami League lawmaker Mrinal Kanti Das cautioned all not to create any distance between the party and its lawmakers during the celebration of "Mujib Borsho".

Several MPs demanded inclusion of lawmakers in different coordination committees in their respective areas to ensure their role in those. 

They also pressed for inclusion of MPs in the government's ongoing initiative to provide home to the homeless people within the "Mujib Borsho".