Don’t let 'evil forces' like BNP, Jamaat return to power: Hasina

Bangladesh Awami League (AL) president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday called country’s primary opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its key ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat ‘evil forces’, reports UNB.

While exchanging Bangla Nababarsha 1425 greetings with her party activists at her official residence Ganabhaban, Hasina urged all to forge a unity so that “BNP-Jamaat clique cannot grab power” alleging that they “would undermine the country's heritage, culture and existence”.

She recalled the ‘miserable days of 1993’ when AL with some cultural organisations decided to celebrate the Bengali new year 1400 through various programmes.

"The BNP was in power at that time, they refused to give permission to hold the celebration rally at Suhrawardy Udyan. But taking poet Sufia Kamal with us we defied all the obstacles and celebrated the Bangla 1400," she said.

She mentioned that all can understand why the BNP had the objection to the Bangla 1400 celebrations.

Citing some lines from Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem '1400' and national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam's another poem in reply of the '1400', Hasina said the party that was in power in 1993 failed to understand the meanings of these two poems of the great poets.

"Had Rabindranath been alive, he would have got hurt at this," she said.

Hasina said this is the only occasion of the country that is celebrated by all irrespective of their religion, race and cast. This occasion is also celebrated by government, and non-government organisations and urban and rural people.

"For that reason we introduced a special festival bonus for Pahela Baishakh from last year," he said.

Sheikh Hasina reiterated her determination to build a hunger- and poverty-free Sonar Bangla as dreamt by father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. "We have a firm belief that we can achieve that goal," she said.

At the outset of her speech, the PM extended her Nababarsha greetings to the country's people and expatriates Bangladeshis.

Earlier, she was greeted with bouquets by the central leaders of Bangladesh Awami League and its associate bodies.

On the occasion, the guests were entertained with traditional Bangalee snacks like moa, murki, muroli, kadma, zilapi and sweetmeats.