Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday once again came down hard on some civil society members, comparing them with roadside dustbins.
“There are some people [a section of civil society members] who are always ready to sell themselves to evil forces. The way ‘use me’ are written on roadside dustbins, they too put a sign on their chest saying ‘use me’…” she said in parliament.
“They are always in the hope that their importance would increase whenever any powerful [person] would come to power in an unconstitutional way,” she said, adding that they always dream about going to power through the illegal way.
She was replying to a supplementary question from Fazilatun Nasa Bappy, an Awami League lawmaker from a reserved seat.
Hasina further said, “They are unfit for the politics of votes. They don’t dare to go to the people to ask for votes.”
At one point, the PM told the House a story in which a donkey dreamt to marry a pretty girl if she would fail to hold onto a rope at a circus.
“I am not terming our civil society members donkeys as all of them are highly educated, internationally recognised and had their education abroad. But when we see their attitude, it reminds me the story of the donkey,” she said, adding that their dreams to go to power through unconstitutional way would never come true.
Hasina also said it was “unfortunate that the civil society members do not see the achievements and development of the country”.
“It is a kind of sickness that they cannot see the development activities of the government,” she said, adding that the whole world acknowledges that Bangladesh has been marching ahead.
Citing a Bangla song — haire kopal manda, chokh thakite andha (it is unfortunate that someone is blind despite having eyes), the PM said, “They are blind and deaf despite having eyes and ears.”
Responding to another supplementary question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam, the premier said her government wanted to go forward with support from all.
“Today’s achievements of the country are the efforts of all. So, I want to work taking all with me,” she said.
Hasina also informed the House about her government’s various achievements in poverty reduction, economic development, modernising the education system, ensuring housing for the homeless and food and clothes for every citizen of the country.
The PM had also criticised the civil society members during the question-answer session in parliament on January 17.
On that day, she told parliament a vested quarter had once again become active ahead of the next election and it wanted to go to power through unconstitutional means.
“There is a section of people who are the real problem of the country and its people,” she said referring to some civil society members while responding to a supplementary question from Fakhrul Imam.
*News Searching By Thedailystar*
