Awami League’s 70th founding anniversary today

The ruling Awami League will celebrate its 70th founding anniversary today.

The party and its front and associate bodies have taken elaborate programmes across the country marking the day.

As part of the programmes, the party will hold a discussion at Bangabandhu International Convention Centre at 4:00pm on Monday.

Awami League president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to chair the discussion where national leaders and eminent citizens of the country will address.

The party will start the day by hoisting the national and party flags at all its offices across the country. Besides, it will also release pigeons and balloons marking the day.

The party president Sheikh Hasina, along with her party leaders, will also place floral wreaths at the portrait of the country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32 at 8:30am.

In a statement, the AL general secretary Obaidul Quader urged all leaders and activists of Awami League and its associate organisations to observe all the programmes planned to celebrate the anniversary with due respect.

Besides, a team of central leaders will visit the graveyard of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to pay tribute to him on the occasion of the party’s 70th founding anniversary, said a press release.

In a message issued on the anniversary, Awami League president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday greeted the countrymen on the occasion saying the party along with the people would build a hunger-poverty free, happy and prosperous ‘Sonar Bangla as dreamt by Bangabandhu’.

‘On this day I recall with respect the greatest Bengali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I recall Awami League’s founder president Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and general secretary Shamsul Haque. I recall with respect Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy,’ she said.

The party was formed as Awami Muslim League by a breakaway Muslim League faction under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani in a meeting at Rose Garden at KM Das Lane in Dhaka on June 23, 1949.

The party dropped the word ‘Muslim’ from its name in 1953.

In 1949, the new party elected Maulana Bhashani as its first president and Shamsul Huq as the first general secretary.

During general Ayub Khan’s autocratic regime (1958-1969), Sheikh Mujibur Rahman consolidated his grip on the party and started earning popularity by organising nationalist movement. Additionally, Suhrawardy’s death in 1963 enabled Mujib to emerge as the sole leader of the party.

In the 1970 elections, Awami League won 167 of the 169 East Pakistan seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan.

General Yahya Khan, the then military ruler of Pakistan, launched a crackdown on the unarmed Bengalis on March 25, 1971, instead of handing over power to the elected party leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and took him captive.

The Liberation War ensued under the government of Bangladesh in exile formed by elected AL lawmakers making Mujib the founding president, though, in his absence.

Sheikh Hasina, the eldest daughter of Sheikh Mujib, after six years in self-exile since 1975, returned home in May 1981 and took the helm of Awami League as she was elected party president in the 13th council session in February 1981 while still abroad.

The party along with others successfully led the movement against autocratic HM Ershad though it took part in the 1986 general elections.

The party returned to power in 1996 with support from smaller parties.

The party retained its power by winning the January 5, 2014 general election boycotted by the opposition parties.

The Awami League also formed the government for the third consecutive term this year after the party bagged majority seats in the December 30 general elections marred by widespread intimidation of voters, polling agent ouster, centre grabbing, massive ballot stuffing and clashes.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net