'AL believes in empowering while BNP tries to confuse people'

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said that the aim of her government is to preserve democracy and improve the fate of the people.

“Preserving democracy and developing the fate of the people is our aim,” she said while inaugurating the Mirpur-Kalshi flyover in Dhaka.

Sheikh Hasina said that after much struggle, AL has been able to ensure people’s voting rights.

“People had cast their votes to AL and elected us in the elections in 2008, 2014 and 2018 to run the government. AL came in the power elected by the votes of people,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said that people of Bangladesh are aware of their voting rights, and if anyone rigged elections, they would never accept that.

In this connection, she said that everyone remembers the February 15, 1996 election during which BNP tried to hold onto power through rigging votes, and Khaleda Zia declared herself as the prime minister.

The PM said as Khaleda rigged votes the people did not accept it and forced her to step down in less than two months through a massive movement.

She recalled that similar incident had happened while the BNP was in power after 2001.

She said that BNP included 1.23 crore of fake voters in the voter list trying to return to power through rigging, a design foiled by the people’s movement.

She said that many were elected uncontested, while people realised that their votes will be rigged. They initiated a movement again and Khaleda Zia was ousted, she said.

The PM said that in 2008 election, BNP managed to bag 29 seats out of 300. Later, they won another seat in a by-election.

“We came to power repeatedly through the votes of the people, by attaining their trust and confidence, and developing the country,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina, also the AL chief, said that her party believes in the empowerment of people while BNP is trying to confuse people.