MOULVIBAZAR : Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today said his government will take a firm stance against money laundering abroad. 

“The people's money will not be allowed to be laundered abroad in any way; rather, it will be spent on the welfare of the people and improving their standard of living,” he said.

He added: “Many people want to spread various kinds of confusion. They ask where the money for the Family Card and Farmer Card will come from. For the past one decade, the people's money had been laundered out of this country. We will not allow the people's money to be laundered anymore.”

He said these while speaking as the chief guest at Family Card distribution ceremony at the Victoria High School ground in Sreemangal upazila of the district.

The prime minister urged all concerned to remain alert so that none can launder money abroad. 

When he asked the audience whether everyone was with the government's initiative to change the destiny of the people of the country, thousands of tea workers as well as the men and women of Sreemangal present there responded in unison with a “Yes.”

Referring to BNP as the party of the common people, the Prime Minister said, “BNP has always been on the side of the people; therefore, BNP's greatest strength is the strength of the people. That is why BNP always says that the people are the source of all our power. Whenever the opportunity to vote has come, the people of the country have voted for BNP and brought it to state power.”

Remembering former Prime Minister late Begum Khaleda Zia, he said, “We have seen at various times that when the people of the country rose up to protect democracy, many major political leaders left this country and went abroad. But Begum Khaleda Zia did not leave the people of the country and go anywhere. Khaleda Zia had said, ‘Bangladesh is my first address. Bangladesh is our and my last address.’”

He said, “We are soldiers of Khaleda Zia. Therefore, this country is our first and last address. We have only one task—to change the destiny of the people of Bangladesh. So come, we ourselves must build this country. We must transform the 40 crore hands of our 20 crore people into the hands of workers. Only then will we be able to change the destiny of Bangladesh.”

At the beginning of his speech, addressing the people present, the Prime Minister said, “Today is a very joyful day for me. 

Do you know why? A few months ago, when the first election campaign began, I started that campaign from the sacred soil of Sylhet, and on that very day, from the public rally stage in Sylhet, I said that if BNP is able to form the government, then we will provide Family Cards to all the mothers who work in our tea gardens.”

“Today I offer thousands of thanks, hundreds of thousands of thanks to Allah that Allah has given me that opportunity. I have been able to keep my word. Today my government has delivered Family Cards to those women workers in the tea gardens.”

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said that within the next one year, they would deliver Family Cards to almost all female workers and to everyone in the tea gardens.

Mentioning that everyone must work together to move the country forward, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said, “If the country is to be taken forward, then all of us must cooperate together. Everyone must work together. Therefore, if alongside men we cannot help women become self-reliant, then it will not be possible to move the country forward.

He said, “That is why we spoke about this Family Card—to make women self-reliant. There are approximately 40 million families in Bangladesh. We said that if we are able to form the government, then gradually we will deliver Family Cards to all families. Especially to female heads of households—we began implementing this promise within less than one month of the election, immediately after it was held.”

Mentioning that the BNP government is changing the destiny of Bangladesh, the Prime Minister added,

“That is why today, in addition to giving Family Cards, we have also provided Taka 200,000 each to female tea garden workers for housing. Here on the stage, I handed over cheques of Tk 200,000 each to three people, and through the administration we will, Inshallah, deliver that money today to all the others who have received it.”

Calling upon everyone, the Prime Minister said, “ On this joyful day, our pledge and our promise will be only one thing: work first. And at the same time let me say another new phrase—work for the country, the country first; Bangladesh for everyone; work first; Bangladesh for everyone, for all.”

After the speech, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman planted saplings of a jam (black plum) tree and a krishnachura (royal poinciana/flame tree) there.

Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Professor AZM Zahid Hossain chaired the programme while State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin, Convener of the Moulvibazar District BNP Faizul Karim Nayan, Member of Parliament for Moulvibazar-4 Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Social Welfare Kamal Uddin Biswas, and among the women who received Family Cards, Shiuli Rani Das and Wajeda Begum also spoke.

After more than 20 years, this was the first time that Tarique Rahman came to Sreemangal.

The Family Card distribution ceremony began with recitations from the Holy Quran and various other religious scriptures. The Ministry of Social Welfare organized the event. The national anthem was played first, followed by the BNP party song.

At the event, the Prime Minister personally handed Family Cards to ten female heads of households. 

Later, by pressing a button on a computer, the Prime Minister inaugurated the third phase of the Family Card programme. At the same time, he also provided grants of Taka 200,000 each to tea workers to help resolve housing problems, awarded scholarships to the children of tea workers, and distributed financial assistance checks to persons with disabilitie