Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said they have no agenda to send any political leader or worker to jail.

“But, the persons who are miscreants, offenders and wrongdoers must land in jail. If anybody is involved with crimes, he or she must be indicted in cases and awarded punishment,” he told reporters.

Earlier, the minister placed wreath on the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam on his 125th birth anniversary at Dhaka University.

Quader said the government did not think of sending any political leader or activist, including those of BNP, to jail after the elections. But cases were filed against miscreants who were involved in arson terrorism, used arms and killed innocent people, he added.

The AL general secretary said communal evil forces are in active under the leadership of BNP. Awami League is determined to uproot the communal forces, he added.

Paying rich tribute to Kazi Nazrul, Quader said the poet’s fiery writings speak out for the rights of the exploited and deprived people and teach them to protest against injustice.

From the songs and poems of the poet, people have been inspired in every democratic movement, including anti-British movement, language movement, mass upsurge of 1969 and the Liberation War, he added.

He said Poet Nazrul has enriched the literature, music and culture of the country through his writings.

Quader said the greatest Bangalee of all time, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was devoted to poet Nazrul.

In the post-independence period, the poet was brought from Kolkata to Bangladesh with the honor of National Poet as per the desire of Bangabandhu, he added.

AL Presidium Member Dr Mostafa Jalal Mahiuddin, Joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Organising secretaries Ahmed Hossain, SM Kamal Hossain and Sujit Roy Nandi, Office Secretary Barrister Biplob Barua, Publicity Secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan Golap, and Science Affairs Secretary Abdus Sabur, among others, were present.