Govt using Rab to cling to power

"The government has destroyed the image of the Rab battalion," Hasina said, adding that though Rab is called an elite force, its members are now involved in snatching and robbery.

Rab has created a record in extra-judicial killing under the directives of the government, the AL chief said, adding this massacre must be stopped right now.

Hasina was speaking at a closed-door view exchange meeting with the grassroots leaders of Nilphamari and Kurigram districts at party's Dhanmondi office in the city.

She told the grassroots leaders that the BNP-Jamaat government might use huge money they looted illegally from the people to create dispute inside the party ahead of the upcoming election.

The AL president directed the party leaders to resist those who would try to create dispute inside the party.

She also urged them to make a list of those ruling partymen who looted and resorted to criminal activities in their localities.

The former prime minister said Khaleda, her ministers and MPs have stolen public money which encouraged the government officials to become corrupt.

Protesting remarks of Khaleda who accused the Al chief of doing politics of arson and hartal, Hasina asked what the PM would tell now when her partymen had called hartal protesting the killing of a JCD leader in an intra-party conflict at Golapganj in Sylhet.

The AL chief apprehended that her party leaders and activists might be implicated in false cases in JCD leader killing as BNP had done before.

Hasina said they have given reform proposals as they want to establish people's rights to voting.

Hasina gave advice to grassroots leaders to take necessary preparation for the upcoming election alongside the ongoing movement.

Sounding a note of warning to them, she said everyone must maintain the party decision and discipline.

Hasina also suggested local leaders to resist the rebel leaders of the party who would contest the election in defiance of the party decision.

In response, the grassroots leaders urged Hasina to declare names of the candidates much earlier of the next election to take necessary preparation for the poll.

They also informed the party chief that the condition of Jatiya Party ((JP-Ershad) is not good in the northern part of the country and for this the grassroots leaders of the JP want alliance with the AL.

"The root-level leaders of the Jatiya Party (JP-Ershad) wants an electoral alliance with the Awami League to defeat the ruling BNP-Jamaat coalition in the next election," Nurunnabi Chowdhury, general secretary of Bhurangamari upazila unit of AL in Kurigram district told The Daily Star after the meeting.

They also urged Hasina to nominate her son Sajib Wajed Joy from any constituency of the northern districts.

AL leaders Syeda Zohora Tajuddin, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Motia Chowdhury, Kazi Zafarullah, Obaidul Quader, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Abdur Rahman, Asaduzzaman Noor, Abdul Mannan Khan, were present at the meeting.