Not foreigners, but people to decide who will come to power: Obaidul Quader

Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said it's the people, not the foreigners, who will decide who will come to power.

"It's not the foreigners but the mass people who will decide who will the country, as we believe in people's power", he said while paying tributes to the noted actor and valiant freedom fighter Akbar Hossain Pathan, alias Farooque, MP, at Central Shahid Minar in Dhaka today.

"Sheikh Hasina herself said that we want to come to power in accordance with the mandate of the people," Quader said, adding, "If the people want, then we will come to power, otherwise not." So, there is no reason that she [Sheikh Hasina] has any fear of the foreigners or the local conspirators, he added.

Ruling out the concept that the overseas power will help to come to power, the ruling party leader said that the Awami League will never think such an impossible thing as the owner of the country is not the foreigners, but the people.

Responding to a query on the claim made by Mirza Fakhrul that the government is agitated on the western countries, fearing to lose power, the Road Transport Minister said, "BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul has a belief that the western countries would help him and his party BNP come to power."

As a result, the BNP leaders are frequently lobbying with their foreign allies, lodging complaints, and also appointing lobbyists in this regard, Quader explained.

So, the Awami League has no connection with this, said the minister, adding that even Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has no lobbyist who will help us come to state power.

Earlier, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, accompanied by other party leaders, paid homage to film actor Farooque at the Central Shahid Minar.

Awami League Organising Secretary Sujit Roy Nandi, Office Secretary Biplob Barua, Science and Technology Affairs Secretary Abdus Saboor and Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan, among others, were present at that time.