Time Digital News: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Nov 12, 2022) categorically said Awami League has never wasted the country's money and it uses every taka in people's interest, for their wellbeing, and considering their brighter future.

She said this while inaugurating the construction work of Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway.

She joined the programme virtually from the Gono Bhaban.

Sheikh Hasina said no one has gone away, taking money from country's forex reserve.

"This fear is always in their [BNP's] mind. BNP will say this. The reason behind this is that their leader Tarique Zia has been convicted for seven years and fined Tk 20 crore in money laundering case. He is now an absconding criminal," she said.

She also said BNP is familiar with money laundering and always think it is normal to take money out of the country.

The PM said the government is investing from the country's forex reserve, because if it takes loans from other countries' banks, it has to repay that with interest.

"If we use our own dollars through Sonali Bank, that money remains in our country. Keeping that in mind, we have given $8 billion," she said.

She mentioned that Bangladesh has given some dollars to Sri Lanka as loan while they were in deep economic crisis.

Hasina said BNP often raises questions about the money in the forex reserve.

"They are trying to spread propaganda across the country regarding the reduced reserve amount," she said.

In this regard, she said when BNP was in power, the forex reserve was only $2.9 billion, and during 2001-2008, it only increased to $5 billion.

"From that position we were able to raise that to about $48 billion. It was increased during the coronavirus pandemic when communication, transport, import and everything was almost stopped," she said.

But, she said, when the world started opening up, import increased, especially the inflation and recession due to the coronavirus and Ukraine-Russia war came as a blow to the global economy worldwide and Bangladesh was also affected.

"We are paying our import expenditure from reserve money; besides, we have given vaccines free of cost and arranged coronavirus tests free of cost. Developed countries across the globe did not do this vaccination and testing free of cost. We have procured vaccines by giving cash. After that, we got vaccines as grants," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said food prices, transportation costs, fuel price, edible oil, wheat price, lentil price and corn price have also increased around the world.

"We are importing those. We are producing rice and other food items; apart from those we have to import some other items. We had to import some items while we were affected by flood and cyclone," she said.

The PM said what the government is spending is just for the people of the country and their welfare.

"For procuring food for them, procuring medicines for cancer, fertilisers, fuel and electricity. We are procuring those with cash money."

Briefly describing various positive impacts of the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway, the PM asked the concerned authorities to complete the project quickly.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming And Bridges Division Secretary Md Monjur Hossain also spoke at the programme.

A documentary on the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway was screened.

SK