Khaleda shows no magnanimity, says Hasina

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Tuesday said that Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia
showed no ‘political magnanimity’ by not celebrating her ‘fake birthday’ on August 15 rather she postponed the celebration because of her youngest son.
‘Her [Khaleda] youngest son Arafat Rahman’s birthday was on August 12. As she could not celebrate the birthday of her son due to his death she refrained from celebrating her birthday this year,’ she said at a discussion organised by the ruling Awami League to mark the National Mourning Day at Krishibid Institute auditorium in Dhaka.
The National Mourning Day was observed on Monday marking the assassination of the country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with all but two of his family members on August 15, 1975.
Hasina, also the eldest daughter of Mujib, said Khaleda used to celebrate her ‘fake birthday’ on August 15, only to give more pain to the survived family members of Mujib.
She said that Khaleda also celebrated her fake birthday on August 15, the day when the defeated force of the War for Independence killed Sheikh Mujib and all but two of his family members, to make her position clear that she ‘is always at the side of the defeated forces.’
Recalling the contribution of Mujib to the country’s independence and the rebuilding of the war-ravaged nation, Hasina said that she still found no other reasons behind the killing of Mujib other than ‘to stop the progress of the newly independent Bangladesh under the leadership of my father and to remove the spirit of liberation war forever.’
Hasina, also the Awami League president, said that the conspirators resorted to the killing after failing to demoralise her father by spreading propaganda against him.
She said that after the death of Ziaur Rahman there was a hurry to hand over the Dhanmondi 32 house, where she was not allowed to visit after returning home in 1981, to her.
‘The conspirators did so to demoralise me and tarnish our image as they launched a 40-day propaganda that Zia left nothing for his family members while Sheikh Mujib left huge including Tk 7 lakh in cash for his family members,’ she added.
Hasina said that her journey in the country’s politics after returning home in 1981 was not the bed of roses rather it was full of hostility.
She said that the only desire in her life was to work for the well-being of people so that the soul of her father might rest in peace.
The prime minister said that her father dreamt of changing the fate of the people and undertook many remarkable initiatives for that but he could not do so as the killers shattered his dreams.
She called on the people to cooperate with her in materialising the dreams of her father to turn Bangladesh into a real ‘Sonar Bangla.’
AL presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, also the deputy leader in parliament, presided over the discussion that was addressed, among others, by party senior leaders including Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Matia Chowdgury, Mohammad Nasim, Nooh-ul-Alam Lenin, Mahbubul Alam Hanif and Jahangir Kabir Nanak.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net