Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday said that his government will take a firm stance against money laundering abroad.
“The people’s money will not be allowed to be laundered abroad in any way; rather, it will be spent on the welfare of the people and improving their standard of living,” he said.
He added, “many people want to spread various kinds of confusion. They ask where the money for the Family Card and Farmer Card will come from. For the past one decade, the people’s money had been laundered out of this country. We will not allow anyone to launder the people’s money anymore.
He made these remarks while serving as the chief guest at the Family Card distribution ceremony held at the Victoria High School ground in Sreemangal upazila of the district.
The prime minister urged all concerned to remain alert so that none can launder money abroad.
When he asked the audience whether everyone was with the government’s initiative to change the destiny of the people of the country, thousands of tea workers, as well as the men and women of Sreemangal present there, responded in unison with a "Yes."
Referring to BNP as the party of the common people, the Prime Minister said, “BNP has always been on the side of the people; therefore, BNP’s greatest strength is the strength of the people. That is why BNP always says that the people are the source of all our power. Whenever the opportunity to vote has come, the people of the country have voted for BNP and brought it to state power.”
Remembering former Prime Minister late Begum Khaleda Zia, he said, “We have seen at various times that when the people of the country rose up to protect democracy, many major political leaders left this country and went abroad. But Begum Khaleda Zia did not leave the people of the country and go anywhere. Khaleda Zia had said, ‘Bangladesh is my first address. Bangladesh is our last address and my last address’.”
He said, “We are soldiers of Khaleda Zia.” Therefore, this country is our first and last address. We have only one task, to change the destiny of the people of Bangladesh. So come, let us build this country ourselves. We must transform the 40 crore hands of our 20 crore people into the hands of workers. Only then will we be able to change the destiny of Bangladesh.”
At the beginning of his speech, the Prime Minister addressed the people present by saying, “today is a very joyful day for me.
“Do you know why?” the PM asked.
“A few months ago, when the first election campaign began, I started that campaign from the sacred soil of Sylhet, and on that very day, from the public rally stage in Sylhet, I said that if the BNP were able to form the government, then we would provide Family Cards to all the mothers who work in our tea gardens,” he added.
“Today I offer thousands of thanks, hundreds of thousands of thanks, to Allah for giving me that opportunity. I have kept my promise. Today my government has delivered Family Cards to those women workers in the tea gardens,” he further added.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said that within the next year, they would deliver Family Cards to almost all female workers and to everyone in the tea gardens.
Mentioning that everyone must work together to move the country forward, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, “If the country is to be taken forward, then all of us must cooperate. Everyone must work together. Therefore, helping women become self-reliant alongside men is essential to moving the country forward.
He said, “That is why we spoke about this Family Card, to make women self-reliant. There are approximately 40 million families in Bangladesh. We said that if we are able to form the government, then gradually we will deliver Family Cards to all families. We began implementing this promise, especially for female heads of households, within less than one month of the election, immediately after it was held.
"The BNP government is changing the destiny of Bangladesh,” the Prime Minister mentioned.
“That is why today, in addition to giving Family Cards, we have also provided Taka 200,000 each to female tea garden workers for housing. Here on the stage, I handed over cheques of Tk 200,000 each to three people, and through the administration we will, Inshallah, deliver that money today to all the others who have received it,” he further added.
Calling upon everyone, the Prime Minister said, “On this joyful day, our pledge and our promise will be only one thing: work first. And at the same time let me say another new phrase: work for the country, the country first; Bangladesh for everyone; work first, Bangladesh for everyone, for all.
After the speech, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman planted saplings of a jam (black plum) tree and a krishnachura (royal poinciana/flame tree) there.
Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Professor AZM Zahid Hossain chaired the programme, which was also attended by State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin, Convener of the Moulvibazar District BNP Faizul Karim Nayan, Member of Parliament for Moulvibazar-4 Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Social Welfare Kamal Uddin Biswas, and two women who received Family Cards, Shiuli Rani Das and Wajeda Begum, who also spoke.
After more than 20 years, the event was the first time that Tarique Rahman came to Sreemangal.
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