Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said BNP believes that it could go to power relying on the strength of gun, foreigners and conspiracy.
�Awami League believes in the strength of people and this is the reality. On the other hand, the BNP believes that it could go to power relying on the strength of the barrel of gun, foreigners and conspiracy. But the Awami League doesn�t believe in it,� he said.
The minister stated these while replying to a query from reporters at the meeting room of his ministry at the Secretariat in the capital.
Hasan said, �Awami League believes in the strength of people and we don�t believe in any other power. The party didn�t go to state power with the help of any other�s strength and cooperation and we are also not dependent on any foreign power. We depend on people�s power.�
On the other hand, he said, BNP works at office in Nayapaltan at day and visits foreign embassies at night as they don�t believe in the power of people. They think that the foreigners will put them in power, he added.
He said the countrymen are the owners of the state. But BNP believes in the strength of guns like Ziaur Rahman. Zia seized the power through the killings of hundreds of people and many leaders of the party (BNP) came from other parties and they joined in BNP to enjoy the leftover of power, he added.
Replying to another query over a proposal of constructing road through reserved forest area in Ramu of Chattogram, the minister said, �It is not appropriate and I�m personally not with it and can�t support it as I�m a student of environmental science and I was also the forest and environment affairs secretary of the party (AL) for 10 years and later discharged the responsibility as forest minister.�
He said construction of roads through reserved forest areas will lead to extensive forest destruction and degradation. �I also saw in newspapers that there is no approval from the concerned ministry. I would like to extend my thanks to them who wrote about it in newspapers,� said Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary.
He said it is not appropriate to construct roads in reserved forest areas.
Earlier, the minister unwrapped the cover of the reprinted book �Bojjrokantho�, a collection of Bangabandhu�s speech which was first published in 1973.
In his speech, Hasan said Bangabandhu had turned an unarmed nation into an armed nation through the historical March 7 speech. UNESCO has recognized the speech as part of world documentary heritage. The book contains the speech of Bangabandhu from March 7, 1971 to February 26, 1972 and it was first published in 1973 by the then publication department.
The Department of Film and Publication (DFP) published the book. DFP managing director SM Golam Kibria also addressed the function.