BNP fighting for existence
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has questioned whether the BNP will be able to exist as a political party.
"How can a party survive when it is led by a person convicted of arms smuggling, August 21 grenade attack, and siphoning off orphans' money?" she said.
Hasina, also the Awami League president, was addressing a reception accorded to her at Queen Elizabeth Centre in London Sunday. She joined the programme virtually from her place of residence here.
The PM said a convicted criminal in a killing case, arms smuggling and corruption case, and a fugitive, is now at the helm of a political party.
She said Khaleda Zia's sons are corrupt, which was revealed in an investigation by the US' FBI and also in Singapore. "We have been able to bring home some smuggled money from abroad."
Referring to the lavish lifestyle of Tarique Rahman in London, Hasina said they (Khaleda and her sons) did not have patriotism as they treated power as a tool of pleasure and place for looting.
The premier said the AL always stands beside people and thinks about their welfare.
The people of Bangladesh had plunged into an era of darkness after the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she said. "But when Awami League came to power, people started availing of services from the government."
The PM said she had started moving the country towards prosperity after forming the government in 1996. "Today, Bangladesh doesn't live on begging! Today Bangladesh has learned to stand on its own feet. Some 90 percent financing of our development projects comes from our own resources. We've attained that capability."
Talking about the Padma Bridge, Hasina said a vested quarter had tried to stigmatise the government, especially the prime minister and her family members linking them to corruption cases. "I issued a challenge to the World Bank. They have failed to prove that. There was no corruption in the Padma Bridge project."
The premier urged the expatriate Bangladeshis to invest in the 100 economic zones being built across the country. "If you [expatriates] want to invest, you'll get special facilities. We will ensure that."
She said the government has taken steps to solve the expatriates' problems, and urged them to inform her about investment in Bangladesh assuring that she would solve every problem.
Hasina said the government will pave the way so that Bangladeshis can invest in other countries as well.
UK AL President Sultan Mahmud Sharif presided over the programme.
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