BSS, Dhaka:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday said the BNP-Jamaat and Shibir carried out the nationwide mayhem to undermine the country’s development alongside tarnishing its image abroad, calling upon the countrymen to help arrest the culprits involved in the havoc and bring them to justice.

“They, who are involved in such incidents, must have to be identified by searching every nook and cranny of the country, where they are staying. I am seeking support from the countrymen to identify them and expose them to justice,” she said after paying a visit to the BTV Bhaban at Rampura in the city to inspect the rampage carried out there on Thursday.

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The Prime Minister said the BNP-Jamaat carried out nationwide arson terrorism and vandalism in 2013 in which they set fire on 3,800 vehicles, 29 trains and eight launches and this time they launched a massive destruction across the country from July 17, 2024 morning by cashing in on the quota reform movement.

“But, the characteristic of setting ablaze this time is different compared to the prior ones. They, this time used gunpowder in setting fire and everything was gutted to ashes at a while,” she said.

Giving a grim picture of the mayhem launched by the BNP-Jamaat, Sheikh Hasina said on the one side they had attacked, damaged and set fire on the government establishments and on the other hand they killed police personnel, journalists, common people and Awami League (AL) leaders and activists.

The anarchists had killed seven activists of Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling AL, in Chattogram, hanged policemen and an AL activist after killing them, she said, adding that they threw several Chhatra League men from a six-storey building and cut veins of hands and legs of many others centering the quota movement, she said.

Sheikh Hasina continued that the perpetrators also searched houses to find out police personnel and the leaders and activists of the Awami League in the capital city’s Jatrabari area.

The Prime Minister said she had built government establishments with hard works at days and nights for the welfare of the country and its people.

“I have built every organisation through day-night hard work. For whom? For the people of the country. These are working for the betterment of the people and their livelihoods,” she said.

The massive destruction was carried to malign the country’s development as well as its image abroad, she opined.

“Today, Bangladesh goes one step ahead towards prosperity and achieved the status of a developing country. The rampage was carried out to undermine the achievement. They want to ruin everything,” Sheikh Hasina said.

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The Prime Minister without mentioning the name of Tarique Zia, said he from London has asked Bangladeshis residing abroad to carry out movements against the government aimed at tarnishing the country’s image abroad and jeopardizing overseas employment of lakhs of Bangladeshis.

“The matter of grief is that one staying London asked Bangladeshis to wage movement,” she said, adding that three BNP leaders were arrested in London while 57 Bangladeshis in the UAE, three of whom were given life term imprisonment and 20 in Saudi Arabia on charges of bring out processions.

Sheikh Hasina has cleared her stance over her remarks saying that she never told the agitating students Razakar.

“I didn’t call the students Razakar, my comment was distorted,” she added.

The students themselves called Razakar through chanting slogans, “Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar,” the Prime Minister said.

Sheikh Hasina said she equipped the state-owned television with the latest technologies including cameras after coming to power for the first time in 1996 and modernised the television centre further assuming power for the second time in 2009.

“But now the people of Bangladesh are witnessing the terrible scenes like the infernal devastations committed by Pakistani occupation forces in 1971,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said even the Pakistani occupation forces didn’t attack on the television. But today torched this television and damaged it so badly that nothing was spared from destruction, she said.

“Who are they? Are they the people of this country? Were they born in this country who carried out these attacks with an intention to destroy the country?” Sheikh Hasina said.

They also destroyed metro-rail, which is a pride for every Bangladeshi.

The prime minister was seen disappointed and unhappy after witnessing the magnitude of devastation in the BTV Bhaban. She was also spotted looking teary-eyed while the air had become heavy as BTV officials were trying to hold back their tears after seeing the wreckage of devastation at the BTV Bhaban.

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat was present during the PM’s visit.

Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain, Principal Secretary Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Information and Broadcasting Senior Secretary Md Humayun Kabir Khandaker and PM’s Speech Writer M Nazrul Islam, among others, were present.

High officials including its Director General Dr Md Jahangir Alam gave a brief description of the rampage in the BTV Bhaban.

The Prime Minister was seen consoling the crying General Manager of BTV Mahfuza Akter.

A video presentation on the vandalism in BTV Headquarters and BTV Bhaban was also screened.

In the afternoon of July 18, miscreants in large numbers entered the BTV Bhaban by breaking its main gate.

They first set fire on several vehicles parked at the BTV Bhaban and later went to its inside and damaged and torched various sections on different floors.

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) took control of the BTV on Thursday night.

The premier visited the BTV Bhaban, a day after she visited the damaged Mirpur-10 Metrorail Station on Wednesday morning.

According to the available statistics provided by the BTV, the rampage left havoc in the BTV’s various infrastructures, broadcasting equipment, design section, office building and rooms.