I’m everyone’s PM irrespective of party affiliation, says Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said that every homeless person irrespective of party affiliation and opinion will get a home in Bangladesh declaring, she is "everyone's prime minister."

"The country belongs to all of us. I am the prime minister of Bangladesh. It is my responsibility to look after every person in Bangladesh," she said.

She said that there might be difference in opinion or way or ideology among the people, but "I treat every human being as human."

"I want that every person will have a beautiful life. That is the lesson of my father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," she said.

She urged all including other political parties irrespective of their party affiliation and opinion to provide names of landless and homeless people to the government so that it could manage houses for them.

"I am asking all public servants and all political parties to provide information about any landless and homeless people so that we could give them a house and an address," she said.

"We will build house for them, give them an address and arrange livelihood for them," she reaffirmed.

The PM said this while distributing a total of 26,229 houses among the landless families across the country under the Ashrayan-2  
Project joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.

She also declared Panchagarh and Magura as the country's first two districts having no landless and homeless people in a landmark achievement under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's home-to-everyone Ashrayan project.
 
She announced that a total of 52 upazilas of different districts, including all the nine upazilas of Panchagarh and Magura, as having no landless and homeless families as part of the government's commitment made on the occasion of the Mujib Year to ensure shelter for all the homeless in the country.

The PM said that it is the responsibility of the beneficiaries to save the houses that has been given to them. 

She asked them to develop their respective lives through professional training that the government is providing to them and generate their incomes.

"We want that you will procure your own land in the coming future and build houses on those," she said.

Regarding the houses given to the homeless and landless people, she said, "It is not mere a house, it's a shelter, address and future of your family and your next generation."

 Hasina regretted that the government is facing problems to procure fertilizer and food because of the coronavirus pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war subsequent US sanctions on Russia.

"Inflation has shot up worldwide, not only in Bangladesh. Prices of essentials have been increased, scarcity of food is going on across the globe and even the developed countries are feeling the heat," she said.

She mentioned that even the developed countries are maintaining austerity in power and fuel. 

"We are running our country quite well, but we have to be cautious from now on. We have taken cautionary measurers," she added.

She urged all to save electricity, water, fuel and use every inch of their lands for food production. 

She once again urged the people not to leave an inch of arable land uncultivated. "Just do it so that you could produce your own food. We will not beg to anyone," she said.

Talking about natural calamities like flood, she said that Bangladesh is the country of natural disasters and people of the country have to live with that.  

She asked all to remain alert as there might be a flood in the southern region during this monsoon season. 

She again put emphasis on personal savings, food or money, to face any sort of calamities in the days ahead. 

"We as the government are always beside you, if you remain alert, Inshallah we shall overcome any sort of calamities," she said.

Ashrayan-2 Project Director Abu Saleh Mohammad Ferdous Khan gave a power point presentation on the overall scenario of the project.

A documentary on the project was also screened.

Later, the prime minister talked to several beneficiaries in Panchagarh, Magura, Bagerhat, Laxmipur and Mymensing through video conferencing.