AL needed in power for Bangladesh’s graduation: PM
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday told the parliament that Awami League must be needed in power to turn Bangladesh into a developing nation through attaining the final graduation by 2026.
‘We know that we (AL) are needed to turn Bangladesh into a developing nation,’ she told the general discussion on the national budget for financial year 2023-24 in parliament.
Mentioning that today Bangladesh has achieved the status of a developing nation, Sheikh Hasina, also leader of the House, said, ‘Who will be able to implement it if we (AL) don’t come (to power again)?’
She added, ‘Show me a person who will be able to do it. Show me a person who will work selflessly for the country. If you show me such leadership, I have no objection.’
The prime minister told the country’s people that since you voted AL to power time and again, ‘the AL government has brought Bangladesh on the development track as it has been able to serve the country.’
The AL government has been able to reduce the poverty rate significantly and today the unemployment rate stands only 3 per cent, she added.
‘Bangladesh will never lag behind, rather it will continue marching,’ she said, adding, ‘Insha Allah, the Bengali nation will stand head high in the world as a developing country.’
Mentioning that Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has given this country, Sheikh Hasina said, ‘Our goal is to make this country prosperous. Today, we’ve come a long way and we will continue it.’
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled Tk 7,61,785 crore national budget for the FY 2023-24 in parliament on June 1 last.
Sheikh Hasina said that the goal of her government was to make the country self-reliant economically and pull Bangladesh ahead as it was a victorious nation.
‘We want to stand on our feet. We don’t want to be dependent on someone. We don’t want to beg. We want to carry our heads high as a self-respecting nation,’ she added.
Overcoming so many obstacles, so much opposition, so much criticism and so many things which were happening regularly, she said, ‘We (AL government) are taking proper measures to keep the wheels of our economy running’.
If there had not been the Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war, Bangladesh could have gone so far on its development journey, she added.
Sheikh Hasina, however, said that there was nothing to fear as it was normal that problems came from time to time. ‘Don’t be upset seeing problems rather it has to be faced. We hear many things that the government will be overthrown today and other things will be done tomorrow,’ she added.
Criticising the critics of this national budget, she said that many people called this budget as ambitious or un-implementable which they were used to hearing always.
Besides, some people are there who always show a negative attitude and they see nothing positive, which is the most unfortunate thing for the country, she observed.
The head of government said that they (critics) perhaps never went to the rural areas where the poverty rate declined largely than the urban areas. There is no such suffering among the rural people, she added.
She continued that Bangladesh has been able to witness massive progress as stability has been prevailing in the country for the last 14-and-a-half-year.
The government has been able to place a record budget of Tk 761,785 crore amid the tough time around the world, which emerged due to aftermaths of the Covid pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war, she added.
‘When the economies of many developed countries are struggling, we’ve been able to give this huge budget,’ she said.
Talking about the budget deficit, the prime minister said that her government kept the budget deficit within 5 per cent to 5.5 per cent every year. ‘This time the budget deficit has been kept within 5 percent and there is nothing to worry about,’ she said.
About the target of 7.5 per cent growth rate in the budget, she said that this target could be achieved.
Sheikh Hasina expected the universal pension scheme could be introduced within the upcoming FY24.
The prime minister, in her speech, gave instructions to finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal to take measures to consider paying 5 per cent of the basic salary of government employees as a special incentive.
‘I request the finance minister to consider paying 5 per cent of the basic salary as a special salary of the government employees during this emergency. I hope the honourable finance minister will accept this matter. We will give them 5 per cent of the basic salary as a special incentive,’ she said.
In her speech, Sheikh Hasina elaborately highlighted the various steps taken by the government to control inflation and raised her government’s development successes in different sectors.
News Courtesy:
https://www.newagebd.net/article/205201/al-needed-in-power-for-bangladeshs-graduation-pm
