PM defends son's remark on AL win

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Star file photo

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday defended her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy's comment that Awami League will come to power again winning the next parliamentary elections.

“Joy said one thing; he said that on the basis of survey and poll," the prime minister said this while distributing cheques of Journalists' Assistance Allowance fund to 158 journalists at her office.

Addressing an Iftar party of Jubo League, the youth wing of ruling AL, on July 23, Joy said he had information that the Awami League will win in the next election and will form the government again.

Talking on the issue, the PM said Sunday that a ‘survey report’ showed that the Awami League advanced in the ‘opinion poll’ and people still have their faith and confidence in the party.

“As per the survey, Awami League will secure good result in the next (general) election and will be in power next,” she said.

She said when Joy commented that as per the survey report and poll, he got the picture that the AL will do good in the next election and will come to power again, some vested quarters tampered with his statement.

“The vested quarter is now saying that Awami League is hatching conspiracy to come to power again.”

The PM also wondered about the people smelling conspiracy behind Joy's remarks.

“From whom are we hearing about the conspiracy? These people are habituated to do conspiracy and that's why they are telling abut the conspiracy,” she said.

She alleged that these people are used to vote rigging, vote engineering, stuffing the ballot boxes, capturing polling booths by hooligans, and using the law enforcing agencies people and members of the armed forces, administration and media.

Hasina further said: “Those used to do conspiracy will see conspiracy everywhere. They will think at their level; they cannot think any better than that. This is the ground reality.”

In this regard, she mentioned that she had the fourth survey report in her hand that was conducted by herself.

“This is not the intelligence survey reports. I also have those. DGFI and NSI also do survey. But what I have is totally different. We do the survey to figure out the condition of the party and it is normal,” she said.

The prime minister criticised the vested quarter saying that they are spreading false information.