<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday called upon the people to take the country&nbsp; forward overcoming all evil tricks and conspiracies.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“On the 54th Independence Day, let’s come forward in unison and take the development and progress of Bangladesh forward,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The premier made this call at her televised address to the nation on the eve of the Independence Day.</div><div><br></div><div>The speech was broadcast at 7:30 pm simultaneously by Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar and some private television channels, radio stations and online platforms.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said she has tirelessly been trying to put a smile on the faces of the common people by improving their fortunes with support and cooperation from all.</div><div><br></div><div>On this 53rd anniversary of independence, she unequivocally said that her government has successfully been able to fulfill the expectations of the countrymen to a large extent.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is not a hollow rhetorical claim. Today Bangladesh is a shining example in the developing world for socio-economic development,” said Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>She said her government proved that a country can be taken forward with political will and proper plans amid limited resources.</div><div><br></div><div>But it is an unpleasant truth that the conspiracy to undermine the independence and sovereignty of the country and to thwart the desire for economic emancipation has not stopped even today, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>“The conspirators are still lurking to figure out how to stop the ongoing progress of Bangladesh,” said PM Hasina, also the President of Bangladesh Awami League.</div><div><br></div><div>She said the forces who suffered defeat in 1971 and the killers of the 1975 massacre and also their collaborators are still hell-bent on avenging their defeat.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister alerted the people that the conspirators will strike whenever they get the chance.</div><div><br></div><div>“The only obstacle on their way is Awami League. If AL can be annihilated or weakened by any trick, the rise of the defeated forces is inevitable. So, be careful,” she urged.</div><div><br></div><div>The PM said the AL government runs the country following “Friendship to all malice towards none,’ the foreign policy dictum of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.</div><div><br></div><div>“We’ve no master rather we’ve friends,” she said, adding that the Bengali nation will never be browbeaten by any one.</div><div><br></div><div>Noting that AL formed the government for the fourth time in a row by gaining an absolute majority in the January 7 parliamentary elections, the AL president extended her thanks and gratitude to the people for keeping confidence in her party.</div><div><br></div><div>“Our goal is to establish Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous Smart Bangladesh by 2041 carrying forth the development and progress what we’ve so far attained,” she said adding that Bangladesh will be the hunger-poverty-free non-communal golden Bangladesh as dreamt by Bangabandhu.</div><div><br></div><div>She said Awami League has been governing the country for the past 15 years with the mandate of the people.</div><div><br></div><div>But this 15-year journey was not entirely a bed of roses, she said, citing different natural and manmade disasters and wars including Covid-19 pandemic, arson violence, Russia-Ukraine war, and high global inflation.</div><div><br></div><div>Focusing on the strong position of the country in different economic and socio-economic indexes and the agricultural sector, she said Bangladesh is now the 35th largest economy in the world.</div><div><br></div><div>She said different completed infrastructures including Padma Bridge, Dhaka Metro Rail, Elevated Expressway, Bangabandhu Tunnel under Karnaphuli River in Chittagong, Third Terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and highways with four or more lanes which connected Divisional cities with Dhaka have brought a revolutionary change in the communication sector.</div><div><br></div><div>About the commodity prices during Ramadan, she said the government has stockpiled several goods such as sugar, chickpea, pulse, and edible oil alongside giving permission to import 50,000 metric tonnes of onion and the same amount of potatoes.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, fish, meat, egg and milk are being sold at affordable prices for the marginalised people at 25 points in the capital since the beginning of Ramadan, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The TCB sells rice, pulse, edible oil, sugar, and chickpea at cheaper prices among one crore cardholder families across the country, she added.</div><div><br></div><div>On the occasion of the Eid-ul Fitr, the government has given a special allocation of 100,628 metric tonnes of rice for one crore families and each family will get 10km rice at free of cost, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>At the beginning of the month of Ramadan, the prices of some commodities including dates, imported fruits, lemons, watermelons, onions were slightly higher.&nbsp; But the prices of these items have come down to normal and affordable levels within a few days, reports unb</div><div><br></div><div>“When the price of goods increases, the common man, especially the people with limited income, suffer. We’re trying our best to ease people's suffering,” said PM Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>