Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was accorded a civil reception during her visit to the United States. A group of BNP-Jamaat supporters protested during that civic reception at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington DC. Then the Prime Minister wanted to discuss with the representatives of those protestors.
In Bangladesh, BNP-Jamaat is also conducting regular agitations and protests. In response to such a question whether to discuss with the protesters of the country or not, the Prime Minister said, "Tell me what I will call for the discussion." Their demand is not correct.
The prime minister said these things in response to questions from journalists at a press conference at Ganabhaban on Monday. The press conference was organized to inform the media about the visit to Japan, USA and UK. In response to a question, the Prime Minister said that the salary will increase in line with inflation.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also said in response to the question asked by senior journalist Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul in the press conference, "When it was raining, it was cold..., then I said why should they get wet in the rain, let them come." And he can say what he wants to say. As they are diaspora, people of our country for this. And those who are suffering from the sun in Dhaka or Bangladesh, if they want to stay in the sun, let them stay. I have nothing to do with that.
I agree with the election government
In response to a question related to the election, Sheikh Hasina said, 'Shall I sit here and cry? Oh election is coming, afraid? Why be afraid? I have worked for the people, if the people vote I am there, if not I am not. Lakshmi goes to Balai. Because, my target-Bangladesh has got the status of a developing country.' He said, 'We follow Westminster type democracy, ... how are the elections in Britain? As they do, so shall we. In that, we can show this much generosity - if any of them who are MPs in the Parliament express their desire that they want to come in the government during the election, I am willing to take it. Earlier we took I even invited Khaleda Zia in 2014, but they did not come. And now they are not in parliament. So there is nothing to worry about them.
Pointing to BNP, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "They are holding a microphone and agitating to remove the government." We are not telling them anything. When we were in the opposition, what let us down? Attempted to kill by grenade attack. 21 thousand of our leaders and workers were killed. People were killed by fire. 500 schools were burnt to prevent elections. Three and a half thousand people were burned in the fire. Burned 3 thousand 800 cars. Burned 27 trains, 9 launches. 70 government offices were burnt. They have set fire to fire.
Pointing out that there is no objection to the agitation, the Prime Minister said, "But if they start burning, if they burn a person like that again, then I will not let him go." I will not allow people to be harmed again. The look of those burnt people or their pain, their suffering; Does it bother you if you don't see it?'
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also raised the question of whose money BNP is agitating. He said, "Where are you getting money from?" Are the people of Bangladesh so blind, do not see? Thousands of crores of rupees have been looted, and they don't even look at who they are supporting.'
The Prime Minister criticized him for covering the news by blocking the road during the election campaign. He said, why is the meeting not in Gazipur, the road is closed? Some newspaper or someone raised the question. BNP who blocks the road in front of his office and holds a meeting, the wise man who speaks, does he not see this scene? It is an election campaign. It can happen in election campaign.
Allah Ta'ala gives work, protects until it is finished
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "Let them protest as much as possible... I am with my people." Working for the people. People's trust, faith is my only strength. I have nothing to lose. I have lost my mother, father and brother. I work for my country.'
Pointing out that Awami League works more, everyone is behind it, the Prime Minister said, "I don't care about that." I work for the country, I want people to be well.
Noting that Bangladesh is moving forward, it will not be liked by many people, Sheikh Hasina said, "Those who opposed independence, those who supported genocide, those who killed the father of the nation, will not like it. They will be enmity against me. Can't bury bombs, can't shoot directly, grenade attacks, I'm not dead either. No matter how hard you try. Allah Ta'ala gives work, Allah protects until that work is completed. The leaders and workers have always protected me by creating a human shield from the side.
Misinformation is from lack of knowledge
Journalist Masuda Bhatti's question, Bangladesh is moving forward. You are leading. You visited three countries. Many accomplishments of the tour. But there are many attempts to dispute this achievement. How will your government respond?
In response, the Prime Minister said, 'There will be propaganda against us. There are some people in the country, no matter how good the work of the country is, they cannot see anything good. They are blind with eyes and deaf with ears. Or their inferiority. All kinds of disinformation they keep up to question it. Either their lack of knowledge, or their misfortune. or vindictiveness. It will be. When we do politics, there will be criticism and opposition in politics. It is very normal.
Pointing out that the Awami League government is doing its work, Sheikh Hasina said, 'We formed the government in 2009. What Bangladesh was in 2008, where the country has come in 2023 - only by calculating this, common people can know how far Bangladesh has come. One thing, the rate of very poor was 25 percent, we have been able to reduce it to 5.6 percent. What does that mean? We are no longer very poor. Whatever is there, we will arrange for them, there will be no difficulty.
Salary will increase at a rate along with inflation
It is heard that government officials-employees are given expensive allowances. In response to a question whether special attention will be paid to the private sector as well as government employees, the Prime Minister said, 'When we increased the salaries of all in 2015, we made a provision that the salaries will increase at a rate along with inflation. He also had to specify a time. Seeing that the price inflation has increased a little, I am thinking about how much opportunity can be given to that place again. Increase the salary at a rate commensurate with inflation as calculated every year. Apart from that, we have also given many opportunities. Starting from Baisakhi allowance, various types of allowances, loans for buying flats, loans for buying cars, house rent arrangements - we have provided many facilities. The way I increased the salary, that is in the case of everyone. So there is no plan to pay expensive allowance.
Regarding the private sector, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, 'It is a matter of the private sector. It is not the government's business. We have given incentives so that the private sector does not fall into danger during the time of coronavirus. They are given low interest loans. We even gave subsidy there. Overall, the rate at which we subsidize is the biggest threat to our budget. No country in the world gives this. Who gets more profit by subsidizing electricity? The one who runs the most AC (Air Conditioning) gets the most profit. Poor people do not benefit. How many watts do they get for free?
The Chief Minister said, "We have to give a large portion of subsidy. Transportation of fuel oil has increased so much, it is not possible for us to pull it. Now what we have done is adjusting prices to inflation. I have legislated for it to be automatic. We will do that in the future. The price at which the production will be done, must be bought at that price. Buy as much as you can. But there is no reason to subsidize these places by depriving the common people.
Owners should see the pros and cons of journalists
President of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Omar Farooq said, "The owners of the media are not following any of the laws that exist in the management of the media. As a result, 90 to 95 percent of journalists are victims of deprivation. Can I get any help from the government to get rid of this situation?
The Prime Minister said, "We have given so many televisions to the private sector for the benefit of our journalists, artists and workers." Magazines are given enough. Newspaper owners belong to the private sector. The owners are all rich and wealthy. The owners should see the pros and cons of the journalists they employ. I don't know whether the government has the opportunity to do much here.
The Prime Minister said, 'We are doing our best. Our government does not allow us to speak. The press has no freedom. He writes whatever he wants with the sweetness of his heart. While doing talk shows, talk talks. If he talks a little sweet and sour, it's nice to hear it. Doesn't say either. Even then he says that he does not allow to speak.
LNG ship diverted due to storm
Gas supply from the floating LNG terminal is disrupted due to the cyclone. In response to a question in this regard, Sheikh Hasina said that the LNG ships had to be evacuated due to the storm. So that there is no damage in the storm. There is no chance of the pipe floating. There are pipes. The ship arrived. The pipe is connected to the ship by divers under the sea. They had to be opened and the ship taken to a safe place. He said, "The waves of the sea have a calculation. Above that figure we moved everything. Moved to places where storm damage will not occur. Now it has to be set slowly again. It has been said since the beginning. Where is the weakness in this?
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that due to the storm, the water at the bottom of the sea became turbulent and became very cloudy. No diver can work in murky water. It requires special divers. He said, "We have to connect the pipeline with the LNG ship by bringing that special diver. It is time consuming to do. So give that time. When the sea is calm, the water is stable, the diver can go down and do the job. That is the problem. So there is no weakness. Rather it is strength enough. This happens all over the world.
Referring to the weakness in the cyclone of 1991, the Prime Minister said, the storm is coming, Khaleda Zia (the then Prime Minister) does not know. he is sleeping Air force and navy chiefs were playing golf. On the other hand, everything ended in destruction. They don't even know.
The Prime Minister said, 'We Awami League reached there first. No one from the BNP government went then. Then when I raised the issue in the parliament, Khaleda Zia said that as many people as were supposed to die, so many people did not die. I said, how many people die, you will have as many people, he also said that. The weakness is there. Awami League government has no weakness. We have taken advance measures.
Nothing will be bought from embargoed countries
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed the Finance Ministry to include a clause saying that Bangladesh will not buy anything from countries that impose sanctions. He said, 'I will not buy anything from those who will sanction us, it is clear. I have already taken two of these actions. I will not say all. If the journalists do not keep the news, why should I say? What happened to that, nothing happened to me.'
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, 'Why did they sanction us? With whom I eliminated terrorism. The whole world is plagued by militancy, everyone is terrified. At that time there was only one incident in our country at Holy Artisan. Many people said that Bangladesh cannot handle it alone. But it didn't even take us 24 hours. In the meantime, we rescued people alive, we were able to attack those involved in the incident. Then such a big event could not happen in Bangladesh. Because, our law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies have been monitoring and working in such a way that no further incident could happen. After that what is the sanction for? That's why my question.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a press conference. Senior leaders of Awami League.
Gana Bhavan, Dhaka, 15 May
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a press conference. Senior leaders of Awami League. Ganabhavan, Dhaka, 15 May: PID
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, 'I took a decision for this and told our Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, that we buy things from abroad, there will be a clause - we will buy anything from those who sanction us. no What is the crisis, fear?'
The Prime Minister also mentioned that Bangladesh is no longer dependent on anyone. He said, 'Whatever there is a problem, we can solve that problem by producing. We have proved that. The common people of the country have come to know that they are cultivating as much uncultivated land as they have.
Questioning what is the cause of so much anxiety, the Prime Minister said, 'No words, no messages, Omni Sanctions will be feared. And we will sit quietly in fear, why? We made the country independent by the liberation war. We overcame those who terrorized our Seventh Fleet and gained victory. Do not forget this. This confidence should be carried on. I will eat one meal, there is no problem.
Referring to various complaints against the current government, Sheikh Hasina said, the unfortunate thing is that some people in the country malign Bangladesh. Protecting their interests, how many kinds of corruption, malfeasance, money laundering they are involved in, the journalists do not find out. If you find out, you will find many people there. They will give bad name to Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister said, "There are some labor leaders. Eat yourself, walk well, drive expensive cars. Movement on the environment. Case by case, case by case, how many judgments have been found? After every case comes negotiation. Negotiation means exchange. The bad name of Bangladesh comes from Ayesha.
Referring to the country of fertile land, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "People of the country are very strong." Our women's society, youth society, common people all work. I will eat by myself.