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Dhaka, December 2 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Awami League party accused the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of showing “no sense of responsibility” towards the people of the country, saying it continues to stage “one farce after another” in the name of justice, wasting both public money and the court’s time.
The remarks came after a Dhaka court on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison over irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Purbachal New Town project.
Additionally, Hasina's sister, Sheikh Rehana, was handed a seven-year sentence, while her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq, received two years' imprisonment.
Condemning the verdict in what it called the “fabricated” corruption case over plot allocations against Hasina, Rehana, and others, the Awami League alleged that the “illegal usurper, killer-fascist” Yunus regime is using public resources to script a suspense drama that has ultimately turned into a mockery.
“They keep presenting the same story and script, only swapping characters or increasing and reducing them. And with the full force of the state they are desperately trying to portray Sheikh Hasina as corrupt. This aggressive effort alone proves that Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, and no member of the Bangabandhu family is involved in corruption. This entire scheme is being carried out with a predetermined decision to brand them as corrupt by misusing every arm of the state,” read a statement issued by the Awami League.
According to the party, there are specific laws and regulations in Bangladesh for the allocation of government plots, and Hasina and her family members received their plots in accordance with those rules.
“This case and the verdict have been delivered completely unlawfully through blatant abuse of power by the illegal occupiers. There will be redress one day. Harassing so many officers over ten kathas of land each—this has never happened before. If there was any irregularity in the plot allocation, it could simply be cancelled. Why, then, should officers be subjected to such harassment? This is a grave injustice. Blocking the livelihood of so many people is nothing short of kicking them in the stomach,” the Awami League stated.
The party further said that “under the cover of staging daily sensational corruption dramas”, the Yunus-led government is attempting to hide its own “unrestrained corruption and lack of accountability”.
“Lacking the people’s mandate, these illegal occupiers have already been identified as anti-people and corrupt. The people of Bangladesh will not spare these corrupt forces in the near future. No trick will save them. For snatching away people’s rights and for their irresponsible and reckless actions, they will surely face justice on the soil of Bangladesh,” the Awami League asserted.