Although it has been almost eleven months since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in a mass movement by students and the public, the slogan Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh, hunger will be eradicated, with her name still emblazoned on rice sacks distributed by the government in Feni's Sonagazi Upazila, has created widespread excitement and questions at the local level.
It is learnt that on Sunday (June 29), rice was distributed among poor and needy women under the 'Vulnerable Women Benefit' (VWB) programme from Nawabpur Union Parishad in Sonagazi. Each sack distributed had the words Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh, hunger will be eradicated written in big letters in black ink. Nazrul Islam, acting chairman of Nawabpur Union Parishad, said, "We distributed what we got. That slogan was written on the sacks of rice itself." Many people present during the distribution raised questions about this, but we could not give any satisfactory explanation.
Nawabpur Union Parishad administrative officer Mohammad Jamal Uddin confirmed the matter and said that rice was distributed to 116 beneficiaries of the union as per the allocation for June and the sacks had the words 'Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh, hunger will be averted' written on them. However, we do not know why such sacks came.
Sonagazi Upazila Food Warehouse Officer Manjur Ahmed said, "The rice sacks are from Sheikh Hasina's regime. At that time, many rice sacks were stored in the warehouse. There was no other option but to distribute them now."
Sonagazi Upazila BNP Convener Joynal Abdin Bablu and Member Secretary Syed Alam Bhuiyan strongly condemned and protested the incident, saying, "This is a very shameful and undesirable incident. This is not desirable in any way. Using rice sacks with political slogans in a neutral government assistance program is against public awareness and administrative responsibility. Such activities are a manifestation of the government's failure and arbitrariness."
They also said, "Government assistance is the right of the people, and no political or personal propaganda is desirable there. We demand a fair investigation into this incident and exemplary punishment for those involved."
When asked about this, Sonagazi Upazila Executive Officer Nazia Hossain said, "The slogan 'Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh, hunger will be annihilated' was written on the rice sacks stored in the food warehouse last year. Since the old rice was in stock, it had to be distributed. However, I took immediate action after the matter came to light. I have already instructed the food warehouse officer and the administration of the concerned union parishad to cover the political slogans on the sacks with black ink or paint before distributing such sacks in the future, so that the distribution process can be kept out of political debate."
Local activists claim that the distribution of sacks with politically misleading slogans is undesirable and a reflection of administrative negligence. They have demanded a proper investigation and action in this regard.
