AL striving for secular state, PM says

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her government will not allow any ‘evil quarter’ to play games with the religious sentiments of people.

"No one has the right to play games with religion. People will not accept any such game to protect the war criminals," Hasina told a rally at the Shaheed Shukkur Stadium in Rangamati Saturday afternoon. The rally was organised by the Awami League district unit in the afternoon.

She also urged the people to maintain peace in the country and said everybody should be careful so that no one could play with fire.

She said the government would neither tolerate any derogative remarks on religion nor accept transmission or publication of such remarks in any newspaper or media. “Those who make such comments and those who publish them in newspapers are equally responsible for the crime.”

The Prime Minister said the ruling Awami League was striving to build a secular state where people of all religions would live with full liberty and breathe the spirit of the War of Liberation. “The trial of the war criminals will continue and all verdicts will be executed.”

She said the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami alliance was trying to foil the trial process. “But they won’t be successful.”

Awami League Rangamati district unit President and State Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Dipankar Talukder presided over the rally where Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Minister for Environment and Forests Hasan Mahmud, CHT Development Board Chairman Bir Bahadur MP and Chittagong City Awami League leader ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury also spoke, among others.

Reiterating the government’s firm commitment to continued peace and prosperity of the hill tracts, she said, “Once this region was politically volatile. We stopped war in this region through the peace accord.”

“We want to maintain peace with all support from the government to safeguard political, social and economic interests of this region’s people.”

Earlier, the Prime Minister inaugurated three busts of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -- one each at the Shahid Shukkur Stadium, Barkal Police Station and the Parjatan Motel each.

She also laid the foundation stones for regional passport office, science and technology university, medical college, Asam Basti-Brahman Tila connecting bridge over the Kachalong river and another bridge linking Puranbasti and Jhulukka Pahar.

CHT Regional Council Chairman Santu Larma and officials of the district administration received the Prime Minister as she arrived in Rangamati by an air force helicopter.