Hasina vows war on corruption if reelected

The Awami League will take a ‘zero tolerance’ policy to free Bangladesh from corruption if it is reelected, Sheikh Hasina has said.

The prime minister interacted with a diverse group of youths and listened to their dreams, hopes and aspirations for a prosperous Bangladesh free from corruption, gender inequality and other menaces last month.

Her anticorruption stance mirrors the government’s crackdown on militancy and drugs.

“When will Bangladesh be free from corruption?” one of the youths asked her at the “Let’s Talk” programme organised by the Awami League's research wing, the Centre for Research and Information, or CRI, in Dhaka.

“It’s one of my targets. I have cracked down on terrorism and drugs. Now a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against corruption will be announced,” Hasina said. 

“Why do the government officials need to resort to corruption when they get salaries?” she asked.

It will be possible to stop corruption if the “evil competition” of being rich can be stopped, according to the prime minister.

A total of 150 young people selected from across Bangladesh, including professionals, jobholders, entrepreneurs, students, representatives of youth groups, and sports and cultural activists, took part in the programme.

They discussed the government’s policies and measures, including employment opportunities, education, women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship and research, fighting the menaces of corruption and violent extremism and ensuring transparency in governance to take the country forward.

“When will the usurping of power by anti-liberation forces in league with others stop?” one of the youths asked.

“If someone doesn’t have any affection for the Liberation War or the country, he or she will never want the country’s development. The allies of the defeated forces always want to keep the country backwards,” Hasina said.  

Hasina described how the Awami League took the country forward because of its belief in the spirits of Liberation War after getting elected in 1996 and returning to power in 2008. She emphasised that voting for the pro-liberation forces will prevent the recurrence of usurping of power by anti-liberation forces.

A young man asked whether quotas for different groups -- freedom fighters’ descendants, people with disabilities, small ethnic groups and women -- in government jobs can be revived.

The prime minister said the government was issuing new instructions to safeguard the interest of these groups of people in civil service.

‘LIFE GOES ON’

On being asked by moderator Dr Nujhat Choudhury about her childhood wish, Hasina said she had wanted to be a doctor.

“But I found that I was weak in mathematics during the SSC exams. And all my friends were in arts group, that’s why I also chose arts,” she said.

“Then I wished to become a primary school teacher,” she added, but now she is seeking the fourth term to head the government.

Responding to queries from the youths, Hasina recalled how she had travelled to Dhaka from Gopalganj for the first time and missed her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Jailed every now and then, and having packed schedule of political programmes and campaigns, he could not squeeze much time for his family as Sheikh Mujib was preparing to lead the nation into the final struggle for independence at the time.    

The family went through many ups and downs at the time, Hasina said, “But my father taught us from the childhood how to get on with these.”

And when the Liberation War started, Hasina was pregnant.

“We could not even go outside to buy a new cloth for my first child as we were under confinement. We had to cover him with the piece of cloth given at the hospital,” she recalled. 

“All pain was gone when the country became free,” she added.

Hasina said she started doing politics when she was a student of Azimpur Girls’ High School.

“But my mother (Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib) barred me from running in election in my college fearing that a defeat for me would impact my father’s Six Point Movement,” Hasina said.  

She won the election by a huge margin and was overwhelmed with emotion while delivering her first political speech at the Central Shaheed Minar.

Finally one of the darkest days in history of global politics arrived – the Aug 15, 1975 massacre of Bangabandhu’s family.

Only Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana survived the carnage as they were abroad.

“In the first few years I could not believe it. I did not want to. I could not pray for my parents’ departed souls.

“Anyway, life goes on,” Hasina said.   

Hasina said she now sleeps only five hours daily as she has sacrificed her life for the people after returning home in 1981.  

She also regularly says her prayers, walks and has a balanced diet to stay fit.

“Let's Talk” is a series of interaction that the CRI regularly organises to connect youths with 'politics and policymaking'.

Hasina’s son and ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and several ministers and MPs had taken part in the programme earlier.

This is the first time the prime minister joined the programme. bdnews24.com and three other media outlets covered the event.

CRI Trustees Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Nasrul Hamid Bipu were also present.