No AL ticket for wrongdoers: Obaidul Quader
The Awami League general secretary said, “Today, Sheikh Hasina is a brand name”
Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said, to build the party more modern and smart, its dedicated leaders, not opportunists, will have to be given scope in the coming elections.
Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, made the comment at a discussion organised by the ruling party at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital on the occasion of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 75th birthday.
Calling on all party leaders and activists to take an oath in the run-up to the next elections, the AL spokesperson said, "Everyone must remain united and maintain discipline in the party and the party has to be organised with dedicated workers. Those who are involved in misdeeds will not get Awami League tickets in the future."
He said, "The BNP killed democracy in the name of democracy. They were joking about democracy in the name of a multi-party democracy. Why did [BNP Secretary General] Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir not come to parliament after winning in the elections with people's votes? Is that democracy?"
The AL general secretary said, "Today, Sheikh Hasina is a brand name. She herself is history and history gave birth to her. Bangabandhu's daughter has come up through a long struggle."
"She has transcended the country's borders and reached the height of a world leader. That is why Sheikh Hasina is praised in the world for her courageous leadership and at the United Nations," he added.
The road transport and bridges minister said war criminals have been tried and the country has developed so much because Sheikh Hasina is alive. The people of the country are doing well and Sheikh Hasina is a role model in the world for poverty alleviation.
He said the next elections will be held in a timely manner and democratically. The BNP is holding a series of meetings and has talked about launching a [political] movement.
"If there is any violence with an excuse of a movement in the country, a befitting reply will be given by the people. For this, all leaders and workers of Awami League must be united under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina," Obaidul Quader said.
Awami League presidium members Matia Chowdhury, Abdur Razzaque, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman, Shahjahan Khan, joint general secretaries Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, Dr Dipu Moni, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Dr Hasan Mahmud, organising secretaries Ahmed Hossain, BM Mozammel Haque, Mirza Azam, and Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel, among others, were present at the discussion.
Science and Technology Secretary, Engineer Abdus Sabur, Office Secretary Bilpab Barua, Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan, Deputy Publicity Secretary Aminul Islam Amin, and other central leaders and leaders and workers from Dhaka Metropolitan North and South Awami League, also attended the meeting.