KOTALIPARA, Gopalganj, Dec 12, 2018 (BSS) – Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina today launched her formal campaign seeking vote for Awami League to serve the country and people again.

“I seek help and doa from all and urge the countrymen to cast vote for the candidates who have been given nomination with ‘boat’ symbol across the country,” she told in her maiden election rally on Sheikh Lutfar Rahman
Government Degree College ground here this afternoon.

Sheikh Hasina also urged the countrymen to give a befitting reply to those who joined hands with and gave nomination to the cohorts of the anti- liberation forces by “casting vote for boat”.

“You will have to give a befitting reply to the cohorts of those who carried out massacre in 1971 and were convicted for war crimes and those who are contesting polls with the arsonists,” she said.

Bangabandhu’s younger daughter Sheikh Rehana was present at the rally presided over by Kotalipara Upazila AL President Subhash Joydhar.

Awami League Presidium Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Advisory Council Member Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, Joint Secretaries Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman, Organizing Secretaries AFM Bahauddin Nasim and BM Mozammel Haque and central leaders Advocate Afzal Hussain, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, SM Kamal Hossain spoke at the rally, among others.

Besides, film actors Reaz and Ferdous and AL candidates from surrounding areas addressed the rally.

The rally also marked the beginning of Sheikh Hasina’s own election campaign as the rally was held at her Kotalipara and Tungipara constituency.

She earlier offered wreaths at Bangabandhu’s shrine to mark the launching of polls campaign for her party.

The premier reached Tungipara by road at 2.10 pm and went straight to the shrine of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman where she first placed wreaths as the Prime Minister and then as the Awami League president.

Sheikh Hasina said since Bangladesh would celebrate the golden jubilee of independence in 2021 “I urge the countrymen to prevent . . . so the anti- liberation forces, war criminals, killers and arsonists can’t be in power at
that time”.

“The people’s fate will be exposed to disaster and they will face hunger and illiteracy again if the anti-liberation forces come to power,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina added: “As it’s my first election rally, I seek vote for boat to serve the people again and build Bangladesh as a hunger and poverty- free country as dreamt by Bangabandhu in the spirit of the liberation war.”

The Awami League president said the people could get a beautiful and better life by casting vote for boat as “nobody was deprived by casting vote for boat in the past”.

She urged the people of her constituency reach this message to all. Sheikh Hasina said the people of the country got independence and rights to speak in Bangla language and hunger and poverty-free Bangladesh is now a reality as they vote for the Awami League.

She said Bangladesh is now self-reliant in food and it is now moving towards prosperity.

“So I want to get that scope from the countrymen so that none can halt Bangladesh’s march forward and the Bangalee nation can move on the world stage by keeping its head high,” she said.

Highlighting her government’s tremendous achievements in different sectors, the prime minister said: “We’ve tried war criminals and the killers of Bangabandhu. Bangladesh is moving ahead with the spirit of the liberation war and has stood on the global stage by raising its head high.”

Pointing out that every work of her government is welfare-oriented, the Awami League president said Bangladesh is now marching towards development and prosperity as the government is adopting multifaceted plans.

“It has been proved that the fate of the people is changed, when Awami League came to power,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said there will be no poverty in Bangladesh and all villages will be turned into towns if her party is reelected. The prime minister said Bangladesh is now a role model of development in the world as the continuity of the government was maintained.

She said the BNP-Jamaat nexus tried to foil the 2014 elections and overthrow the government by unleashing fire terrorism and vandalism. “They committed heinous acts like burning the people alive and they torched 582 schools and 3500 vehicles as well as a number of land offices and power plants,” she said

Sheikh Hasina said the people didn’t respond to the BNP-Jamaat movement in 2014 and 2015. “Today Bangladesh is now a role model of development as the people reelected Awami League through the 2014 elections,” she said.

The prime minister said Bangladesh will celebrate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu in 2020 and hundred years of independence in 2071. “We’ll celebrate Mujib Borsho in 2020-2021 by establishing Bangladesh as a poverty-free country,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina also reaffirmed her vow to build Bangladesh as prosperous and developed country by 2041. “We’ve adopted the Delta Plan-2100 to keep up development and make it permanent,” she said.

The Awami League president said 93 percent people have been brought under electricity coverage as her government has increased the country’s power generation to 20,000 MW in the last 10 years.

“Our aim is to reach electricity to every house,” she said.