Sakil Ahmed: Referring to Bangladesh as a country of communal harmony, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called upon all to unite. He said exemplary punishment would be provided to those who created anarchy in the puja mandapa under the law. The Prime Minister said against the recent rumors of vandalism and attempts to create chaos in Comilla, “We are taking immediate action and we are in touch all the time and appropriate steps are being taken and wherever such incidents take place. Will be found out. We have done it in the past and we can do it. The Prime Minister said, ‘They should be given appropriate punishment. That means punishment, We want that no one else will have the courage in the future. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the remarks while exchanging greetings with devotees at the central puja mandapa of Dhakeswari National Temple on the occasion of Durga Puja on Thursday afternoon. He participated in the virtual event with the help of video conference from Ganobhaban.
Describing the attack on the shrine as “extremely unfortunate”, the Prime Minister said, “The incident that took place in Comilla a few days ago is being thoroughly investigated. We are getting a lot of information and of course we will find out who will cause such incidents and we will be able to do that, because now is the age of technology. It can be taken out and appropriate action must be taken against him, whatever his religion may be. And we have done and will do it. ‘
Sheikh Hasina said, “At a time when Bangladesh is moving fast on the path of development, there are some such miscreants left in the country to disrupt this journey and create a problem inside the country at the same time. Those who cannot gain the trust and confidence of the people. There is no politics, there is no ideology, in fact they do such things. It is their kind of weakness. But if everyone is aware of it, then action must be taken against it as much as it can be prevented.
Advocate Kishore Ranjan Mandal, General Secretary of Mahanagar Sarvajanin Puja Committee gave welcome speech on the occasion. Milon Kanti Dutta, President of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, Swami Purnatmananda Maharaj, Principal of Ramkrishna Math and Mission Dhaka addressed the function. Shailendranath Majumder, President of Mahanagar Sarvajanin Puja Committee presided over the function conducted by Nirmal Kumar Chatterjee, General Secretary of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad.
Mentioning that her government will follow the non-communal ideology left by the father of the nation, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh is a country of non-communal consciousness. In Bangladesh, people of all religions and castes will live together and will practice their religion. In other words, religion belongs to everyone but festivals belong to everyone. It has always been and is in Bangladesh. During each festival, everyone joins together and enjoys. But sometimes some vicious circle wants to destroy this inner consciousness of the people by causing some incidents.
Mentioning that the Father of the Nation has constitutionally guaranteed us the right to practice our religion freely, the Prime Minister reiterated his call for maintaining communal harmony in the country by quoting the speech of the Father of the Nation on 15 December 1974. The Prime Minister greeted the followers of traditional religions at home and abroad and urged them not to think of themselves as a small community or a minority.
The Prime Minister said, ‘You were born in this land. So you are the children of this soil. There you will all live in your own right. So it is better not to judge by one’s own number here. You will live as an independent citizen of independent Bengal and that confidence must be among you – that is what I want. ‘ Referring to her wish that all the people of the country would live in peace and enjoy religious freedom, Sheikh Hasina said, “Don’t think of yourself as a minority, we consider you as our own. We want you to live in this country with equal rights, practice religion and celebrate. And this is the real policy of our Bangladesh and our ideal. The Prime Minister also mentioned that in Islam, there is talk of equal rights for all to practice their religion.
To the leaders and workers of the Awami League, the party president said, “I will request the leaders and workers of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations as well as the law and order forces to cooperate in the security of the mandapas in their respective areas.” Which they do. The Prime Minister said, ‘I want the people of the country to celebrate the festival beautifully. The goal of the Awami League is that they will enjoy religious freedom. Source: Basos.