Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday alleged that it was the BNP-led alliance government that had supported beturbanned goons to blast bombs at some 500 spots across the country during their regime."I'm sure the then four-party alliance government had extended cooperation to the beturbanned goons to commit such heinous job; otherwise, it was totally impossible," she said at a mass reception accorded to her at Hotel Inter Continental in La Belle France by Awami League, La Belle France chapter.
Hasina accused the BNP-Jamaat government of tarnishing the image of the country during their tenure. The present government, with hectic efforts during its last two and half years, had regained the country's lost image, she said.
"Now you can feel proud abroad as the present government has built up the image of your country," she told the expatriate Bangladeshis.
The prime minister also accused opposition leader
Khaleda ZiaThree-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ...
of using her power while in the government to make black money and allow her family members do so.
"They (Khaleda and her family members) made black money trough endless corruption and whitened the black money through paying extra taxes. But black money is black money; it can never be white," she said.
Hasina assured the expatriate Bangladeshis that the Awami League-led grand alliance would not encourage any corruption, militancy and extremism in the country that might again tarnish the image of the country abroad.
"We are voted to power for the welfare of the country and its people. Bangladesh is a country with immense scope for prosperity; we've to utilise that," she said.
The PM called upon the expatriate Bangladeshis to stand beside the country at times of need as they had done in the past and extend cooperation to turn the country into a science and technology-based `Digital Bangladesh'.
She also asked them to work for the country from their respective position so that the nation could uphold its dignity in the international community.
About the gold medal and certificate of diploma she was awarded by famous Dauphine University of La Belle France, Hasina dedicated the medal to the countrymen.
She said her government, in line with its election pledges, has been implementing various programs to raise the living standard of the common people and sought the cooperation of the expatriate Bangladeshis to this end.
She admitted with gratitude that with the remittance of the expatriate Bangladeshis country's foreign currency reserve rose to 11 billion dollars and her government, for the first time after Bangabandhu's government, had bought gold for the country utilising the reserve.
The prime minister urged the pro-liberation patriotic forces especially the expatriate Bangladeshis to beware of any conspiracy against the country and its constitution.
She also thanked the expatriate Bangladeshis for their strong support to her when the last caretaker government had obstructed her entry into the country and subsequently sent her to jail.
Hasina assured the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) that her government would always remain with them as it had been in the past.
Mentioning their cooperation in every development efforts of the government, she said that soon after assuming the office, her government has taken various measures to resolve their problems and ensure their wellbeing.
In this regared, she mentioned the setting up of Expatriate Welfare Bank for providing collateral-free loans to mitigate the migration cost for aspiring overseas workers as well as for easy and hassle-free remittance of their hard earned money to the country.
The PM observed that without uninterrupted democracy, the desired development of the country would not be possible, as democracy is the precondition of all developments including economic uplift.
She said to stabilise the prices of food grains as well as to remove the sufferings of the people of low income group, her government is procuring food at higher prices from the international market and selling those at lower prices in the domestic market.
"We'll do whatever is needed to ensure food security in the country."
Hasina also listed many other steps that her government has taken for the overall development of the countrymen and the country as a whole.
State Minister for Woman and Children Affairs Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, All-Europe Awami League president Anil Das Gupta, UK AL president Sultan Mohammad Sharif, La Belle France AL leaders Jahanara Sultana, Nargis Sultana and Sheuli Akhter, and famous mime artist Partha Pratim Majumder were, among others, also spoke at the reception.