Awami League turns the country into hell whenever it comes to power, Abdus Salam tells Press Club rally

Abdus Salam, administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation and convener of Dhaka Metropolitan South BNP, has said the Awami League has turned the country into hell every time it has come to power.

The freedom fighter made the remarks as chief guest at a rally held at the National Press Club on Thursday (12 November) to mark the historic National Revolution and Solidarity Day.

Abdus Salam said that after the war, people had expected the country to move forward holding the spirit of the Liberation War. Instead, he said, the then Awami League killed democracy and took away people's fundamental rights rather than following that path.

He said people died without food during the famine of that period. Unclaimed bodies were seen lying on Dhaka's streets, with no one to bury them, he said, adding that Anjuman Mufidul Islam became known at that time for burying unclaimed bodies.

Abdus Salam said the BNP had stood beside the people in every disaster and difficult time in the country, and that is why the people had also stood beside the BNP. People believe only the BNP can protect the country's democracy and independence, he said.

Criticising the opposition, he said the BNP itself once raised slogans that there was no gas, no electricity and no money in the banks. But does Tarique Rahman hold Aladdin's lamp that every problem would be solved within three months of taking charge, he asked, saying these problems need time to be resolved.

He said programmes to destabilise the country were creating an opportunity for fascism to return. Addressing the banned Awami League, he said burning vehicles and exploding cocktails would bring no gain, and that the people of Bangladesh had never taken a position in favour of any underground political party or terrorism.

Abdus Salam said that despite 17 long years of oppression, torture, enforced disappearances and killings against the BNP, the party never went into underground politics. It carried on its movement staying beside the people and built public opinion, and in the end autocratic rule was ended through a mass uprising, he said.

Urging the opposition to be patient, he said those who believe in democracy must wait five years, and whoever the people give their verdict to in the next election will receive the responsibility of running the state.

On the gas and electricity crisis, Abdus Salam said no effective initiative was taken in the Awami League government's 17 years to drill new gas wells in the country or extract gas from the sea, which is why the present crisis has arisen. He said the gas and electricity supply situation would improve if people were patient, and that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was taking initiatives to expand solar power and deliver solar electricity to homes and various institutions.

The rally, chaired by H M Shah Alam, convener of Dhaka Metropolitan South Matsyajibi Dal, was also addressed by BNP volunteer affairs secretary Mir Sarafat Ali Safu, former member secretary of Jatiya Matsyajibi Dal Abdur Rahim and Dhaka Metropolitan North convener Amir Hossain Amir.