Hasina asks people to make sure ‘killers, war criminals and arsonists’ never return to power

The prime minister said that the BNP-Jamaat alliance had burnt many to death in the name of an anti-govt movement

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the people of Bangladesh to ensure that killers, war criminals, and arsonists do not return to power.

"Make sure that the killers, anti-liberation elements and war criminals never return to power again," she told a civic reception held for her by expatriate Bangladeshis at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington, DC on Tuesday local time.

The prime minister said the BNP-Jamaat alliance had burnt many people during their ‘so-called’ movement to dislodge the Awami League administration from 2013 to 2015, state-run news agency BSS reports.

The Awami League had put Bangladesh on the highway to development after the BNP-Jamaat alliance led the country down a path of destruction, Hasina said.

"Bangladesh will march ahead and be transformed into a developed and prosperous country as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We're working to materialise that dream," she said.

The prime minister bashed her opponents for cashing in on Digital Bangladesh to spread anti-state propaganda at home and abroad.

"We've made Digital Bangladesh. They [BNP-Jamaat] are conducting propaganda against us using the tools of Digital Bangladesh. Don't pay heed to that propaganda," she added.

The prime minister touted her government’s achievements in infrastructure, healthcare, accommodation, education and employment generation. "We have made it possible as the Awami League is in power," she said.

She described the Awami League as a party of the people that was formed to ensure the rights of the masses.

"Awami League always works for the welfare of the people. The people’s fate is changed whenever the party assumes office."

"The development takes place whenever the Awami League assumes office. ---we have turned Bangladesh into a developing country and are determined to build it as a developed and prosperous state," she said.

The prime minister lauded the expatriates of the country for their contributions to Bangladesh’s development.

She called on her countrymen to send remittances home through legal channels instead of hundis after the government announced a 2.5 percent incentive.

Hasina also spoke about the success of the Ashrayan project, which gives homes to the homeless and landless free of cost. The project has given houses to 3.5 million people and ensured their livelihoods, she said.

"None will remain homeless in the country as her government is committed to bringing every homeless person under the free housing scheme," she said, adding that 60,000 more houses are being built for the project.