Muhammad Yunus and his gang of terrorists and militants have destroyed the country in the last 10 months, the Awami League president and the countryโs longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, said on Friday, reiterating her resolve to overthrow the government.
Yunus has destroyed the economy and failed to give a timely budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. โHe has totally failed to manage the state affairs. He could not maintain economic growth or develop it further. This is why he had to reduce the budget.
โWe never did it. Despite the pandemic, war, and global recession, our budget increased every year. But it has slumped this time.
โEvery institution that we built has been destroyed. He has taken the country to the edge of destruction. The atmosphere feels heavy with sombre prayers for those lost to murder and tortureโฆthe cry of the hungry peopleโฆthe frustration of the unemployed youth.
โI do not know how he can lie this much. He has spent his life telling lies.โ
Sheikh Hasina expressed her concern that the people have no safety and security. Thousands of the party leaders and activists and their families are suffering after being attacked by Yunusโ terrorists and militants.
โMany of you are not able to celebrate the Eid. During the Awami League tenure, people used to observe Eid happily.โ
โWe will oust this militant Yunus and bring back peace, security and economic growth for the people of Bangladesh,โ she said in her concluding remarks.
In her previous virtual address last week, Sheikh Hasina said that the Awami League would remove the Yunus Gang from power. โI have this faith; that is why Allah has kept me alive. Allah saves me from different incidents every time, and then it is seen that He gives me some work to do, and Insha Allah, I will do it.โ
She asked her party members to resist the people who attack the leaders and activists in courts and elsewhere.
โIf they beat us, do not you stand and watch. From now on, whenever anyone is taken, there will be our people standing there. They must be taught a proper lesson. We need to deter them.
โBangladesh became independent through a guerrilla war [in 1971]. So, teach them in any way you can; that is my order.
โFirst, they must be taught a lesson. If you put your hand in the fire, your hand will get burned; you must tell them this. If you kill people, your life is also in danger. You must teach them this.โ
Asking party members to take action, she said: โYou will accept this as my order. I am with you. I will take care of what is needed when. Wherever I live, Bangladesh is mine. This country was liberated by my father. We got freedom in exchange for the blood of millions of martyrs. So, we cannot let it be neglected.โ
Economic crisis, lies
Regarding Yunusโ address to the nation, Sheikh Hasina said: โI saw his speech today. Yunus was trying to make excuses for his misdeeds.
โHis remarks do not match the reality. He claimed that the economy was shattered when he came to power. How is it possible? Rather, our economy was in the strongest position.
โHe has destroyed the economy so much that he could not surpass my last budget worth Tk7,97,000 crore; rather, he reduced it. The budget does not go downwards.โ
Elaborating on her achievements, she said: โWhen I took office in 2009, Bangladeshโs budget was only Tk68,000 crore, and it rose to Tk7,97,000 crore. In South Asia, Bangladeshโs economy became the second, ninth in Asia, and 35th in the world.โ
Bangladeshโs GDP was above 8% before the Covid-19 onslaught, global recession, Russia-Ukraine war, and sanctions slowed down economic activities. โDespite these challenges, we maintained a GDP average of 6.7%.
โThe Awami League increased per capita income to $2,794 from $445 in 2009.
โIn 2023, Bangladeshโs GDP rose to 7.4%. Due to extensive pro-people programmes, poverty was reduced to 18% and extreme poverty to 5%.โ
She mentioned that in 2021, Bangladesh was recognised as a developing nation.
In that year, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to graduate Bangladesh from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category, marking a significant milestone in its development progress. While officially becoming a developing nation is scheduled for 2026, the UN stated that the country would continue to enjoy LDC trade benefits until then.
โTo whom is he accountable?
โHe has destroyed the countryโs economy in the last eight years. Prices of essentials have gone beyond the peopleโs purchasing power. People are losing their jobs. They are unable to earn.
โDuring the Awami League tenure, a day labourer or rickshaw-puller could earn enough to arrange three meals for the family. Now they cannot earn money for one meal.
โWe reduced the poverty rate. He has increased it.โ
She said that the Awami League had never been a loan defaulter. โI allocated money for loan repayments.
โBut Yunus plundered the money. He and his gang members have become billionaires overnight. Their health has improved significantly. They are destroying the economy and making personal gains.
โThey unleash the stick-wielding mob terror if anyone criticises them.
โThis government is a total fraud. Yunus has no legitimacy. He has neither public mandate nor constitutional legitimacy. He has clung to power, defying the Constitution.
โYunus does not pay taxes. He had cases filed for tax evasion. He was sentenced to six monthsโ imprisonment for not paying profits to the workers. He has now become the head of the country.
โDuring my tenure, I launched 116 social safety net schemes, including allowances and stipends.
โI kept inflation below 9, but Yunus pushed it to 14, and it is still in double digits. But he has lied, saying that the prices of essentials were affordable. He is a very smart liar.โ
Sheikh Hasina also questioned why Yunus was refusing all the successes of the Awami League rule when the people knew everything.
They have destroyed Bangabandhuโs residence, which was turned into a museum, and the symbols of the Liberation War. They are removing Bangabandhuโs name and the name of the Father of the Nation from everywhere.
She said that many development projects were named after the Father of the Nation based on local peopleโs demands. It was a way of showing respect.
โBut Yunus claims that I named everything after my relatives, parents, and siblings. It is not true. The Father of the Nation brought us independence. You cannot wipe out the name of Bangabandhu no matter how hard you try.
โHistory takes its own course. Today, you are trying to wipe out the memory of Bangabandhu and remove his name from everywhere. Where do you stand? The name Bangladesh was given by Bangabandhu.
Mob King Yunus
โDuring my tenure, people were at peace,โ Sheikh Hasina said. โBut Bangladesh is destroyed due to a personโs greed for power.
โIn the name of anti-quota movement, they tried to unseat the governmentโฆtook attempts to embarrass the government, whereas I revoked the quota system [in 2018]. But they started killing people.
โIn the movement from July 7-14, the authorities did not obstruct them as long as they were peaceful. But on July 15, when they started the killingsโฆlooted and burned 460 police stations, and killed police members, ordinary people, studentsโฆ Who killed these students? Police did not use metal bullets.
โSince they killed the police, the on-duty police also have the right to self-defense. They lynched the police, not even sparing a pregnant police officer, killing ordinary people, numerous Awami League activists, and freedom fighters.
โThey claim this is mob justice. Where is the mob? These are some terrorists and criminals. It is already proven that they torched metro rail, the BTVโฆโ
Sheikh Hasina mentioned what Yunus said at the Clinton Global Initiative event in September, that it was a meticulously designed anarchy to grab power. He even clapped with a happy face after introducing the mastermind to the world.
โIt means there was no involvement of students and the public in the movement. It was staged to capture power and sell out the country.
โWe achieved our marine boundary. Yunus wants to allow setting up a military base in the Bay, sell out the country in the name of providing a humanitarian corridor, and sell out the Chittagong Port.
โThe country is burning in hell due to his greed for power. They were killing people one after another by lynching and using sharp weapons and sticks. No one has ever seen such brutality.
โEven the innocent cows were not spared. These animals were beaten to death.
โThey cut the tendons of Chhatra League activists and threw them from an 11-storey building [in Chittagong]. They were even watching to see whether they died.
โThe brutality of the killings after torture has not been seen in the past.
Sheikh Hasina said the interim government has filed cases against 4-5 lakh Awami League members. Over 1,37,000 are in prisons. At least 1,000 Awami League members have been killed. The injured are not getting treatment at hospitals.
Judges, doctors and teachers have been forced to resign. The courts have been politicised, she said.
Sheikh Hasina said: โHis speech was full of lies. Yunus has awarded impunity to the perpetrators of murders, arson and other crimes that have taken place since July 15. Donโt the families have the right to seek justice?โ
Many of the students have admitted that they killed the police and set fire to the metro rail and BTV buildings, she mentioned.
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