With just over a week to the general elections, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina has distanced her party from those accused of corruption in the Padma bridge project.
Published : 26 Dec 2013, 08:39 PM
"Those accused of being involvement in the Padma bridge graft case are not mine, they are not of the Awami League," the Prime Minister told a rally in Faridpur on Thursday.
Former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain, whose name had figured in the scam, had resigned. He has not been nominated to contest the election.
The World Bank had suspended its $1.2 billion loan in the 6.15km rail-road bridge - Bangladesh's biggest infrastructure project so far - alleging corruption "involving high government officials".
The government had vehemently denied the allegation but ordered a probe by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
At the end of investigations stretching for close to six months, the anti-graft agency had sued seven high-ranking government officials but stopped short of naming former minister Abul Hossain and ex-state minister Abul Hasan Chowdhury.
In September, the Canadian police pressed charges against former State Minister for Foreign Affairs Chowdhury over the alleged corruption scandal in the bridge project.
The Prime Minister said: "The people of Bangladesh, the activists of the Awami League are my relatives, my own."
Hasina attended a rally at the Bhanga Upazila in the run-up to the parliamentary polls.
She criticised the Opposition's agitation, which resulted in widespread violence. "The Opposition is killing people in the name of agitations. The people will never support this violent movement," said the Prime Minister.
Over 100 people have been killed in the Opposition's recent spells of blockades and shutdown pressing for the suspension of the Jan 5 polls schedule and the formation of a non-party government to supervise the election.
Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia on Tuesday announced a march to Dhaka on Dec 29 to 'foil' the polls.
Taking a dig at her arch political rival, Hasina said Khaleda had chosen the particular day "out of vengeance". The Awami League had won a landslide victory in the Dec 29, 2008 polls, defeating the then ruling BNP-led coalition by a huge margin.
Hasina felt the "the people will not respond to her call".
The Awami League chief addressed two rallies in the Faridpur-4 constituency and sought votes for Kazi Zafarullah.
"Independence, peace, development and democracy are embedded in [Awami League's electoral] symbol 'boat'. The people achieved independence by giving their mandate to this symbol," she said.
Hasina promised to execute the war crimes verdicts. Trying the suspected war criminals was on her party's 2008 election agenda.
"The BNP boycotted the polls to shield the [suspected] war criminals. They are promoting terrorism and militancy by orchestrating bomb attacks and killing people by setting them on fire," alleged the Prime Minister.
Eight of the 10 war crimes convicts are either current or former members of the BNP's key ally Jamaat-e-Islami or its affiliate. Only two belong to the BNP.
The Jamaat cannot contest the Jan 5 polls as the High Court cancelled its registration with the Election Commission earlier this year.
In a pointed remark, Hasina said Khaleda would be tried one day for 'ordering' the acts of violence.
"The Opposition Leader does not like December because it is the month in which the Bengalees had achieved victory," she said, criticising the Opposition for agitating in this month.