Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today (20 October) alleged that the ousted autocrat was providing money from across the border to a political party seeking to create instability in Bangladesh, urging people to remain vigilant against attempts to foment unrest.
"We've intelligence reports that the ousted autocrat is providing money from across the border to a particular political party, which is trying to create instability here," he said while addressing a rally at Haji Muhammad Mohsin Government High School ground in Rajshahi this afternoon, reports BSS.
The prime minister said intelligence reports pointed to attempts to create disorder in the country, referring to recent attempts to create labour unrest at several factories in different parts of Bangladesh.
"We say: 'We will work, we will build, Bangladesh first.' Those who do not believe in this slogan and principle are now involved in conspiracies," he said.
Addressing the gathering, Tarique urged people to remain alert so that no one could create disorder or obstruct efforts to improve the economy and change people's fortunes.
He also said the government had taken initiatives to reopen closed mills and factories to create jobs and address unemployment.
In Rajshahi district, the government had brought together businesspeople and entrepreneurs and encouraged them to reopen closed industrial units. Six closed mills and factories had reopened in the past seven months, he added.
"The core objective is to ensure that our workers do not remain unemployed and can return to work," the prime minister said.
He also announced plans to reopen around 46 more closed factories across the country between January and December next year.
"We want our workers to have jobs so they can earn a living and sustain themselves," he said.
Tarique said the government had decided to double the bed capacity of every upazila health complex from 50 to 100 over the next five years to make healthcare more accessible to ordinary people.
Separate beds for women and children, along with dialysis facilities for kidney patients, would be introduced at the hospitals so that rural residents would not have to travel to distant towns for routine treatment, he added.
At the beginning of the rally, the prime minister distributed Tk12 crore in incentives among 38,970 sugarcane farmers in the Rajshahi region.
He transferred the money to the farmers' mobile accounts by pressing a button on a computer and handed cheques to 15 farmers.
BNP acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, BNP Standing Committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury, Land Minister Mizanur Rahman Minu, Industries Minister Khandakar Muktadir, among others, were present.
Thousands of party leaders and activists from different units of Rajshahi district attended the rally, along with men and women from the Hindu community.
Earlier, the prime minister arrived at Shah Makhdum Airport in Rajshahi aboard a military aircraft at 2:50pm and proceeded directly to the venue.
Before travelling to Rajshahi, he visited a Durga Puja mandap at Dharmasabha Temple in Rangpur. After his engagements in Rajshahi, he left for Shah Makhdum Airport to travel to Chattogram.