Observing that Awami League has no strong opposition in politics right now, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Saturday said the ruling party’s main challenge is actually to tackle religious extremism.
“A pernicious campaign is going on against Bangladesh. I want to clearly say Awami League has no strong opposition in politics right now. We have a common danger and that is religious extremism,” he said.
Quader, also AL presidium member, said this while addressing a press briefing after a joint meeting of the party at AL president’s Dhanmondi political office.
Awami League central leaders, presidents and general secretaries of its Narayanganj, Manikganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj and Dhaka district units, and party MPs from f those districts attended the meeting as part of preparation to hold a public rally at Suhrawardy Udyan, marking the historic March 7.
Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address the rally.
Quader said BNP’s so-called movement is not a challenge for Awami League, but its challenge is to face religious extremism.
He also alleged that a bad campaign is going on within and outside the country although the present government has carried out huge development activities and achieved successes in various sectors.
“An attempt is there to destabilise the government by a quarter aiming to fish in the troubled waters,” he added.
He sharply criticised BNP for not observing historic March 7 saying late Ziaur Rahman had written an article in the now-defunct Dainik Bangla and Bichitra after the country’s independence on the historic day, saying that they had received the green signal of independence through the historic speech of Bangabandhu on March 7, 1971.
“But it’s unfortunate the BNP-founded by Ziaur Rahman doesn’t observe the historic March 7,” Quader lamented.