Delhi: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has revealed that she was offered a guaranteed re-election in the January 7 polls in exchange for allowing a foreign nation to establish an airbase within Bangladesh.Hasinas response to the offerWhen asked how she responded to the White man who proposed this deal, Hasina said she replied similarly to how she did in 2001 when the US wanted to sell Bangladeshs gas to India.“Ive clearly said that Im the daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. . . we won our Liberation War, I dont want to come to power by renting part of the country or handing it over to some other country and I dont need power,” she stated.What sailed in the pastSheikh Hasina, who has been leading Bangladesh since 2009 and secured a fifth overall term in a controversial election boycotted by the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khalida Zia, did not disclose the country behind the offer. However, she emphasized that the offer came from a White man.“If I allowed a certain country to build an airbase in Bangladesh, then I would have had no problem,” Hasina was quoted by The Daily Star Bangladesh. She hinted that the intentions of this offer were not solely limited to one country.Hasina upfront of strategic significance of water bodies“Many have their eyes on this place. There is no controversy in this place and no one has conflict in it. I wont let that happen. This is also one of my crimes,” Hasina remarked, referring to the strategic significance of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, where trade and commerce have flourished since ancient times.Conspiracies of a new BangladeshHasina further stated that she was battling conspiracies both domestically and internationally, suggesting that efforts were underway to create a new country out of Bangladesh. “Like East Timor…they will carve out a Christian country, taking parts of Bangladesh (Chattogram) and Myanmar with a base in the Bay of Bengal,” she said, though she did not provide detailed evidence for these claims.She recalls Mujibur RehmanDrawing parallels to her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1975 along with most of his family, Hasina suggested that similar threats loom over her. Despite this, she remains undeterred by conspiracies and vows never to succumb to pressure.Attacks sanctions imposed on DhakaThe Prime Minister also highlighted her stance against countries imposing sanctions on Bangladesh, asserting that the nation would not purchase anything from those countries. This was reiterated by a top leader of the 14-party alliance in a closed-door meeting.
