The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, inaugurates the railway route between the Bangabandhu Bridge and Tarakandi in Jamalpur on Saturday.— Focusbangla photo

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has alleged that carrying out killings, conspiracies and indulging in corruption are the characters of the BNP, and it can only present ‘dead bodies’ whenever it comes to power.
‘The BNP had gifted the nation bodies, grenades, Bangla Bhai and militants during its previous rule,’ she said at a huge rally at Gana Maidan at Sarishabari on Saturday.
Sarishabari upazila Awami League arranged the rally with its president Alhaj Abdul Malek in the chair.
Hasina alleged that the then BNP government had killed people in the name of ‘Operation Clean Heart’ and made many people cripple. ‘But we didn’t take any measures out of vengeance. We’ve engaged all our efforts for the development of the country,’ she said.
The Awami League president said the present government had ensured food security, education for all through providing school textbooks free of cost and also arranged higher education through the Education Trust Fund.
Accusing the BNP of adopting the ‘policy of begging’ and making the country and its people dependent on others, she said: ‘The Awami League works to make people self-dependent without taking support from others and let them march ahead with heads held high.’
Hasina said the then BNP government had ‘arbitrarily stopped’ operation of the mills and factories including jute mills, and ‘fuelled high inflation and brought miseries for the farmers.’
On the contrary, she said, her present government is reopening the closed mills and factories and providing fertilisers to the farmers at lower prices.
About electricity, the prime minister said that the BNP government had ‘looted public money’ in the name of electricity generation. ‘We had left 4,300MW of electricity generation, but the subsequent BNP government brought it down to 3,200 megawatt.’
Assuming office this time, she said the present government generated nearly 3,800MW of additional electricity over the last three and half years and ensured power supply in the mills and factories to keep the wheels of production running.
Hasina said her government was working to bring financial solvency for the people. ‘We’ve brought down the poverty rate to 31 per cent, showing a decline of 10 per cent.’
She directed the local administration to help the homeless local people in building houses to live in safety.
The prime minister said steps were being taken to save the people of Sarishabari from the erosion of the River Jamuna.
Agriculture inister Matia Chowdhury, LGRD and cooperatives minister Syed Ashraful Islam, food and disaster management minister Abdur Razzaque, information minister Abul Kalam Azad and senior AL leader M Nasim, among others, spoke at the rally.