No plot will work against Bangladesh

Criticising the World Bank for withdrawing fund from the Padma Bridge project, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said international agencies realised that no conspiracy against Bangladeshis would be successful.

“They've now got such a lesson that no one would be able to conspire anymore to force Bangalees to bow down. Our goal is to move the country forward and we're working tirelessly to this end,” she said.

The PM was addressing the Independence Award, 2017 ceremony at the city's Osmani Memorial Auditorium.

She handed over the Independence Award 2017, the highest state award, to Bangladesh Air Force and 15 personalities for their outstanding contributions at national level.

A Canadian court last month acquitted three business executives of the charges that SNC-Lavalin Group Inc staff had planned to bribe Bangladeshi officials in a bid to win a $50 million contract to supervise the Padma Bridge project.

“The Federal Court of Canada in its verdict said the allegation was false, and fabricated, and the accusation was baseless. Such a verdict of the court further brightened Bangladesh's image abroad,” Hasina told the programme.

Greeting the awardees, she said: “You're such personalities who could be followed by others and I think those who want to build and develop their lives, could follow your path. We want to build a dynamic society by using your merits and talents. We want our successors to be groomed in such a way.”

She said the trend of grabbing power through violating the constitution began after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975.

“Bangladesh was supposed to be a secular country with people of all faiths enjoying equal rights and getting their basic rights like food, shelter, clothes, education, treatment, but the country was then guided to a totally different path, pushing it backwards.”

Besides, ill-efforts were made to distort the history of Liberation War, said Hasina.

Highlighting the successes achieved by the country over the last eight years, she said the poverty rate came down to 22 percent and efforts were on to reduce it by another 7-8 percent.

The premier said the present GDP growth rate of 7.11 percent would increase further in future. The size of the national budget was increased manifold and the salaries and allowances of pubic servants were hiked by up to 123 percent, she pointed out.

Ministers, state ministers, advisers to the PM, lawmakers, diplomats and high civil and military officials were present.

WINNERS

The Independence Award, 2017 winners are: Group Captain (retd) Shamsul Alam Bir Uttam, Ashraful Alam, Shaheed Md Nazmul Huq (posthumous), Syed Mohsin Ali (posthumous), NM Nazmul Ahsan (posthumous), Shaheed Faizur Rahman Ahmed (posthumous) and Bangladesh Air Force (independence and Liberation War); Prof AHM Touhidul Anowar Chowdhury (medical science); Begum Rabeya Khatun and Golam Samdani Koraishi (posthumous) (literature); Prof Enamul Huq and Ostad Bazlur Rahman Badal (culture); Khalil Kazi OBE (social service); Shamsuzzaman Khan and Prof Lalit Mohan Nath (posthumous) (research and training) and Prof Mohammad Asaduzzaman (public administration).

The PM handed over a certificate, a gold medal, and a Tk 3 lakh cheque to each of the winners and their representatives.