DHAKA, June 14, 2023 (BSS) - Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said their party does not bow down to any pressure and will not do it in future too. 

He made the remark while talking to reporters after joining the inauguration ceremony of Bangladesh Road Safety Project (BRSP) at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre here.

Asked whether the government feels any foreign pressure over the release of BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said Bangladesh never interferes in internal affairs of any country. 

"I think, interfering in the internal affairs of Bangladesh by other countries should not be reasonable. The issue of Begum Khaleda Zia is our internal matter," he added.

Referring to the BNP leaders' concern about Khaleda Zia's illness, the AL general secretary said they (BNP leaders) are doing politics over the Begum Zia's health. 

When Begum Zia's trial was being held, they wanted to linger the trial process by being absent unnecessarily, he said, adding that BNP did not hold any legal fight or any movement that could create pressure on the government. 

About democracy in the United States (US), Quader questioned what happened in the US on January 6 last in the name of democracy as six lives were lost. "Donald Trump has not yet accepted his defeat in elections," he added. 

Everyone talks about democracy but in reality it is difficult to find the institutional form of democracy, as there are some errors in it, he said.
 
"I am not claiming that our democracy is completely flawless but we are trying to make it error-free. The Election Commission has been made independent by enacting a law," he added. 

Urging the BNP to participate in the next general elections, the AL general secretary said BNP should join the elections to test its popularity. 

About the two allegations of BNP that the AL government sent Begum Zia to jail and scrapped the caretaker government system, he said both allegations are false.

Quader said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir himself failed and BNP leadership needs to resign from top to bottom as they could not wage any visible movement. 

About the banning of Jamaat-e-Islami, he said the matter is under trial in the High Court and the final verdict has not come yet to this end.

Earlier, speaking at the meeting, the road transport and bridges minister said the World Bank could have been involved in the Padma Bridge project if it wanted. 

"There was a misunderstanding but only the World Bank cannot be blamed for this. Some of our country's high-ups were also involved in this," he added. 

He thanked the World Bank for honouring Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and extending its budget cooperation to Bangladesh.

Expressing his dissatisfaction over road accidents, Quader said: "Even after so much development, why we cannot avoid road accidents - this is the question today. Road accidents cause an annual loss of Taka 35,000 crore to the country. Our thoughts are far-reaching but implementation is very slow".

Chaired by Roads and Highways Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, the meeting was addressed, among others, by Economic Relations Division Secretary Sharifa Khan, World Bank South Asia Region Transport Practice Manager Fei Deng, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Abdoulaye Seck, Vice President for Infrastructure at the World Bank Guangzhe Chen, Additional IGP (Crime and Operations) Atiqul Islam, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder and Additional Chief Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department Abdullah Al Mamun.