PM stresses strong unity of pro-AL lawyers

Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina Tuesday said the intra-party conflict among the pro-Awami League (AL) lawyers was behind the recent election debacle in the Dhaka District Bar Association (DDBA) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), reports UNB.
In this connection, she put emphasis on the strong unity among the pro-AL lawyers in all bars across the country.
The PM made the remarks when the newly elected office-bearers of Chittagong District Bar Association (CDBA) called on her at the Prime Minister's Office.
Sheikh Hasina said when the AL remains in the opposition, the pro-AL lawyers win in the elections to different bar associations, but the scenario changes when it comes to power.
"We've to remain united. In Dhaka, the pro-AL lawyers could not register win for lack of unity among them," she said and thanked the pro-AL lawyers of Chittagong for their unity that helped them to win in the Chittagong District Bar Association election.
Referring to various development activities of the government, the PM said Bangladesh is now a role model of development in the international community due to the relentless efforts of her government and underscored maintaining the current pace of development.
She said that the BNP-Jamaat government, during its rule from 2001 to 2006, had "seriously tarnished the image of the country by turning it into a haven of militancy, terrorism and corruption."
But, she added that her government, after assuming the office in 2009, had brightened the image of the country containing these menaces with iron hands during the last five years.
Hasina said the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was to bring smile on the faces of the downtrodden and her government is working round the clock to this end.
Due to ceaseless efforts of her government, per capita income of the people has increased to 1044 dollar while electricity generation reached over 10,000 MWs and extraction of gas has also increased, she added.
The PM expressed the hope that more gas could be extracted from new blocks in the Bay of Bengal as huge areas were added to the map of the country after winning the maritime boundary demarcation case with Myanmar,
She said the problem of gas in Chittagong will reduce significantly after the completion of the construction of the LNG terminal at Moheshkhali.
Hasina said her government is implementing various development programmes to turn Chittagong into a truly commercial capital of the country.
In this context, she mentioned that the construction of dual line on Dhaka-Chittagong railway link is going on.
Construction work of four lanes of Dhaka-Chittagong highway is also progressing fast keeping the provision of six lanes to build an expressway in the middle of the highway.
Laying emphasis on adequate food godowns for storage of export and import goods, the PM said the previous BNP government 'demolished over 40 godowns in Chittagong and sold the land to a private EPZ authority at a nominal price of one taka', which was a suicidal decision.
But, after assuming the office, her government has cancelled the deal and reconstructed silos, she added.
Chittagong District Bar Association president Anwarul Islam Chowdhury and general secretary Abdur Rashid, among others, spoke on the occasion.