President calls for standing united against anti-democratic evil forces

President M Abdul Hamid on Friday called upon all to stand united against any evil force that threatens the country's hard-earned democracy as he addressed the "Special Jatiya Sangsad Session" marking the parliament's golden jubilee.

"All must stand united against any evil force that threatens democracy," the President told the House. It is presumed to be his last speech in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) as the President.

Abdul Hamid's second term as President is coming to an end on April 23. He has been the President for last 10 years in two consecutive terms. President-elect Md Sahabuddin is likely to take oath as the new President on April 24.

Urging the countrymen, irrespective of political affiliations, the Head of State said, "Let's join together to build a welfare-oriented state keeping the beloved motherland away from conflicts and any extremist and terror acts."

The Jatiya Sangsad is the 'heart of democratic practice', said the President and urged the parliamentarians of both the treasury and opposition benches to stay above all sorts of enmity, personal and party interests for constructive, effective and active participation to establish democracy.

Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was in the chair while Leader of the House and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Opposition Leader Rowshan Ershad were present at the special session. President-elect Md Sahabuddin and President Hamid's wife Rashida Khanam witnessed it.

In his 16-page written speech, the President said, "Our identity as a self-respecting, patriotic nation on the map of the world should be upheld with our integrity, honesty and hard work."

He said: "Our thoughts, work-plan and strategies for the development of the country may be different but there should be no violence, no conflict of interest and deep unity should be forged in the areas of national interest and patriotism."

Referring to the upcoming 12th Jatiya Sangsad polls, the President said, "Election is the only way to come to power or bring change."

Hamid said that the politics of terror and violence in the name of movement can never be beneficial for the country, society and economy; rather, it makes the political atmosphere chaotic.

President Hamid put emphasis on the importance of everyone's support to develop democracy by forgetting conflicts and reaching consensus in all aspects through dialogue.

He called upon all to contribute to establishing a tolerant democratic system by removing violence from politics.

The people of Bangladesh would exercise their right to vote impartially in line with the established democratic norms and the constitution, and will enrich and accelerate the history of country's democracy, the President hoped.

Referring to the long 50 years of parliamentary activities, he said, April 7 is a historic and unforgettable day in the history of Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad and the country's parliamentary democracy. The first session of the National Assembly was held on this day in 1973.

The President said this special session will play an important role in presenting the history of the parliament to the new and future generations.

The Members of Parliament (MP) will present the history of parliament as well as Bangabandhu's customs, tactics and the history of freedom struggle and Liberation War before the countrymen and the world in their speeches, the President hoped.

Referring to the current political context, President Hamid said political stability has been maintained in the country in the last 14 years under the strong and charismatic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh has achieved all the qualifications to be graduated from a lest developed country (LDC) to a developing one.

He told the parliament that presently there is no opportunity for any other group or unconstitutional force to take over the state power except the representatives elected by the people.

President Hamid, in his address, mentioned about the remarkable success of Bangladesh in various fields of socio-economic development, including poverty alleviation, education, health, human resource, women empowerment, reduction of infant and maternal mortality rate, removing gender disparity and increase in average life expectancy.

He said Bangladesh is one of the few countries in the world that have achieved economic growth despite the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The country's economy has turned around due to the government's multifaceted socio-economic and investment projects, programs and activities to ensure sustainable and inclusive development, Hamid added.

Noting that the large amount of remittances sent by expatriate Bangladeshis is making an important contribution to keeping the wheels of the economy moving, he said the social safety net has been greatly expanded in the country and the country's food security is secured despite the instability in the global economy.

With the aim to include the landless, homeless and marginalized people in the mainstream of the national economy, different programs such as shelter project, distribution of khas land among the landless and employment generation are being widely implemented under the social security schemes, he added.

President Hamid said the government led by Sheikh Hasina has already declared 211 upazilas free of the homeless and landless people.

The President said Bangladesh's first satellite 'Bangabandhu Satellite-1' has been launched into the space and the launch of 'Bangabandhu Satellite-2' is now at its final stage.

Besides, success in providing cent percent electricity supply in the country, construction of Padma Bridge with own funding, metro rail in Dhaka, Payra deep sea port, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman tunnel, third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal (R) International Airport and Rooppur nuclear power plant are the major instances of the present government's successful steps.

Recalling some of his sweet memories with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he said, "I first met Bangabandhu in 1964. Bangabandhu was the only idol for many youths of East Pakistan at that time. It was in no way possible for anyone, who once came close to Bangabandhu's or got the touch of his affection, to forget him (Bangabandhu)."

He told the parliament that he spent the most important and eventful time of his life in the Jatiya Sangsad complex here.

The President said MPs are elected as representatives of the people and they may have political differences and differences in ideologies, but there can be no difference in making the Jatiya Sangsad as the focal point of democracy and development.

President Hamid said if the JS standing committees related to various ministries can be made more active in the parliamentary system, it will be possible to ensure the transparency and accountability of the government.

Abdul Hamid also stressed on ensuring the participation of people of all levels in the JS and said: "We can never ensure sustainable development by keeping women, half of the workforce, out of the decision-making process."

In order to make the development sustainable, the President said, democracy must be strengthened institutionally and the practice of democracy must be spread to the grassroots.

President Hamid asked the new MPs to acquire more knowledge on parliamentary customs and rules of procedure by regularly participating in the activities of the different committees.

"If you want to perform your duties efficiently as a member of parliament, you need to know about the constitution, rules of procedure, parliamentary customs and procedures," the President advised.

President Hamid said had Bangabandhu not been martyred on August 15, 1975, the country would have become a developed and prosperous one long ago.

"After 1975's brutal incidents, country's development and democracy were blocked for a long time. As a result, the country fell far behind. Due to the continuity of government and democracy in the last one and a half decades, the country is rapidly progressing on the path of advancement and progress. Now it is our responsibility to advance this trend of development in days to come," Hamid observed.

At the very outset of the speech, President Hamid remembered with deep respect and gratitude the greatest Bengali of all time Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, all the martyrs of August 15, 1975, all the brave freedom fighters, the four national leaders and other martyrs who had to embrace death in August 21 carnage and other democratic movements at different times.

The President also prayed for the eternal peace of their departed souls.