The next election will be free, fair and credible, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday. She assured that the next election scheduled to be held sometime in January, 2024, would be free, fair and participatory as the people would not allow those who are inclined to resort to violence.
Prime Minister is confident enough in holding election in a peaceful manner despite the mysterious move by the opposition which had a vicious past of violent activities to disturb and undo election in the country. They had killed several hundred people and burnt out more than 500 primary schools and scores of houses of the rival political parties and the minority people in 2014 elections. Moreover, they had resorted to petrol bombs to kill the innocent passengers in the buses and other vehicles to press home their political agenda. But this time the common people are happy and enthusiastic about the unprecedented economic development achieved by the government of Sheikh Hasina, and they will not allow any violent activities detrimental to country’s existing peace, progress and development.
From day one of the taking over the responsibility of the government as prime minister in 2009 Sheikh Hasina has been facing continuous obstacles created by the BNP-Jamaat led opposition parties. The opposition did not leave sheikh Hasina in peace even for a single day to run the government in peaceful manner. Despite the enormous obstacles by the opposition which no other country in the world had ever experienced, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is carrying forward the on-going development programme. And Bangladesh becomes a development model of the world.
Everybody should have to take into consideration that Bangladesh is still at war, started on the 25th March, 1971, against the forces that had been engaged in conducting genocide in Bangladesh in collaboration with the Pakistani occupation army. The pro-liberation forces won the first round on the 16th December, 1971, but suffered defeat in second round in August 1975 when the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated and the ideals upon which the Independent Bangladesh was founded were seriously violated.
The pro-liberation forces had suffered another defeat in 1991 when the anti-liberation forces in civil and army administration didn’t allow Sheikh Hasina to take the responsibility of the state secrecy as the prime minister of Bangladesh.
The pro-liberation forces again won the battle in 1996 and formed a government, but were again defeated in 2001 as the widow of General Zia took over power by a rigged elections dealing a blow to the pro-liberation forces.
The opposition political parties are never interested in practising democracy, rather they want to create unwanted situation in the country by resorting to violent means.
A true democrat, under no circumstances, will resort to violent activities or resort to conspiratorial means to destabilize the country.
The anti-government movement is on a back- foot and it would be doomed as no hope is coming from any quarter to assist them.
Sometimes the foreign power-brokers become united and there is a significant change visible in the government mechanism and it happened in the 2001 election in Bangladesh. There was a very pertinent issue before the government of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The American Unicol was playing an instrumental role
BNP’s exile leadership does not seem to be a person to relinquish the effort to unseat the incumbent government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh is on a development highway and as a developing nation it is moving at a faster and indomitable pace under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. If this development process continues Bangladesh can easily achieve the status of a rapid- progress nation in 2030 and before 2041 Bangladesh will be able to be an advanced country.
The latest movement by the opposition parties seems to forget the nation’s interest as nothing can prevent them from the path of destruction. They could have refrained from anti-government movement in view of the devastating impact of the corona virus and the global recession due to Ukraine War. But they don’t care about the public sufferings and the national economic conditions. Their only motto is to destabilize the country so that the peace, progress and development programme are hindered.
The anti-liberation forces that had been active in helping the Pakistan Army in conducting genocide in Bangladesh during the War of Liberation in 1971 are in a bid to destroy all the development process. Usually the peace-loving people want that when the nation is in crisis, all the political parties should get united and they should offer an all- out support to the government to overcome the situation. But here in Bangladesh the whole world saw that the oppositions are trying their utmost to push the government to a quagmire. They have clearly pronounced that the Bangladesh would suffer the same fate as Sri Lanka does. If Bangladesh suffers the same fate as Sri Lanka did, then everybody would be affected by the adverse impact of crisis and the opposition would not be spared. But the opposition does not have that sense.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has confidence that the people of Bangladesh are conscious enough and will not allow any violent activities, which had taken lives of hundreds of people, to destroy a free, fair and credible election that will be held in Bangladesh.
Experts opine that the BNP will, under the force of circumstances prevailing in the political arena of the country, participate in the general election as they are being ostracized by their associate parties. Meanwhile, minor parties without having registration and also small parties begin to come to support the Awami League.
