In a rude reminder of the perilous January 11, 2007 political episode for her rival, the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, urged the opposition leader, Khaleda Zia, to return to parliament for the sake of democracy and thus avert such consequences of standoff in politics.

‘Come to parliament. Democracy cannot be let down again. Mind you (Khaleda), you and I, too, had to go to jail,’ the incumbent said in her cautionary words for her political archrival and ex-PM, Khaleda, from this American city. Hasina made the remark of high political significance while addressing an all-party reception organised by the US chapter of Awami League at Hotel Grand Hyatt on Sunday evening. Professor Khaled Hossain, the US-unit president of the party, presided.

This was Hasina’s first public appearance in the US city of New York after being elected prime minister at the end of ordeals following the changeover. Last year she came to the United States after release from jail on parole for treatment of her damaged ears. Her stark observations about a grim political future in the event of continuation of the political hostilities came in a coincidence with musings at home about a repeat of the January 11 changeover, which had heralded state of emergency. In the presence of several thousand Bangladeshi expatriates, mostly Awami Leaguers from different US states, she said the opposition party was not joining the parliament on the excuse of sitting arrangement though they had been given more seats than they deserve.

Hasina said while in the opposition, the Awami League was given five seats in the front row in parliament though it had 64 MPs in the house. But the present opposition party has been given as many (5) front seats despite its total number of MPs being 29. It’s not the arrangement of seats but it is the question who to sit beside the opposition leader in parliament, the prime minister quipped.

Hasina told the Bangladeshi expatriates that she and the opposition leader had taken iftar together when she also requested the opposition leader to join parliament. She said the January 11 events took place following ‘endless’ corruption and greed of the BNP and its ally Jamaat during their rule. ‘They had almost ruined the country through their reckless corruption and greed. They tried to stage another election of vote rigging,’ she said.

Hasina said BNP-Jamaat conspiracy to stage another farcical election came light when some 1.23 core fake voters were identified by the last caretaker government. In a pat on the back of the caretaker-army intermediary she said the caretaker government with the help of army successfully prepared a flawless voters’ list with which the people could cast their vote freely to elect their own democratic government in the December 29 polls.

Hasina said her government wanted to build up Bangladesh as the most peaceful nation in the South Asian region. She asserted her government would never allow Bangladesh to be used by militants or terrorists. She sought help of Bangladeshi expatriates in establishing ‘a peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh rooting out militancy and terrorism’.

Hasina told expatriates the previous Awami League government had succeeded in developing education, health, power and energy sectors to a great extent while Bangladesh had fallen back over 20 years in seven years’ misrule. Now there are some people in the country criticising her new government in the name of power situation, Tipaimukh issue, leasing out gas blocks and so on, she said.

Hasina asked the people critical of the government why in seven years not a single megawatt of electricity had been added. As for Tipaimukh issue, she said those who now raise voice over the Indian dam project did not say anything over the construction issue.

She said India’s prime minister Manmohan Singh, during the last NAM summit in Egypt, assured her of not doing anything that could harm Bangladesh. ‘When a country’s prime minister talks in such a way, what else is left to talk? But a certain quarter in the country is trying to create an issue over the Tipaimukh dam construction,’ she said. The prime minister urged Bangladeshi expatriates to invest more in their homeland announcing that her government will give special incentives to expatriates.

State minister for forest and environment Hasan Mahmud, USA Awami League general secretary Sajjadur Rahman Sajjad, organising secretary Nizam Chowdhury, vice-presidents Mahbubur Rahman, Basharat Ali and Farasat Ali, freedom fighter commander Nurannabi and acting general secretary of Bangladesh Society Dulal Miah, among others, addressed the function.

Hasina’s son, Sajib Wazed, Awami League joint general secretaries Mahbubul Hanif and Dipu Moni, also foreign minister, US AL advisers Mohsin Ali, Siddiqur Rahman and Nurannabi, Democrat Moreshed Alam, prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad, deputy press secretaries Mahbubul Hoque Shakil, Nakib Uddin Ahmed and former BCL leader Jalaluddin Rumi were among others present at the function.

-New Age