Focusing on good governance, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday warned her new cabinet colleagues that they will be under her radar. "Be careful, I'll always keep you under my surveillance to see who's doing what," she said. The Prime Minister issued the warning when the newly-appointed ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers met her at her official residence Ganabhaban. Sheikh Hasina asked all to try to know and understand their responsibilities first and then go for discharging their duties.

Talking about her anxiety about the 11th general election, Hasina said had the BNP-Jamaat clique managed to return to power there would have been 'genocide'. "They would just unleash 'genocide'."

She recalled the horrible days after the 1991 election when the BNP government oppressed the political leaders.

After the 2001 election, she said, the BNP-Jamaat men acted like Pakistan's occupational forces.

"They raped our girls and women just for casting their votes for Awami League. There was no place left where the BNP-Jamaat men had not unleashed their reign of terror," she said.

Hasina, also the chief of Awami League, said if the BNP-Jamaat evil force had somehow managed to come back to power numerous dead bodies would have been found across the country."They would do what the Pakistani forces did here in 1971," she said.

Hasina said the BNP-Jamaat clique would not allow businessmen to do their business freely and hundreds of civil and military officers would have lost their jobs.

Talking about her party's landslide victory in the election, the Prime Minister said this has been possible as the party picked its candidates judiciously.

The Awami League chief said she conducted several surveys involving foreign organisations before finally choosing the candidates.

About BNP's debacle in the election, Hasina mentioned that the nomination trade cost the party dearly in addition to the undecided leadership of the Jatiya Oikyafront. "They failed to pick eligible candidates for the election as they put their seats on auction."

Regarding the recent move of the Oikyafront, the Prime Minister said they are now complaining to foreign diplomats. "Many diplomats themselves were physically present in many centres in Sylhet and Dhaka on the election day."

"The voter turnout, especially the presence of women, surprised them," she said.

Hasina said the results of this election and that of the 2008 one is very much similar as the voters overwhelmingly voted for Awami League.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the martyrs of the Liberation War yesterday on the occasion of forming her government for the third consecutive term.

Sheikh Hasina paid tributes to the martyrs by placing a wreath at the altar of the National Memorial at Savar yesterday morning, a day after she took oath as the prime minister for the fourth time.

After laying the wreath, she stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the martyrs who made supreme sacrifice for the independence of Bangladesh.

A smartly turned out contingent drawn from the three services gave a state salute, while bugle played the last post on the occasion.

Flanked by the new cabinet colleagues, Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League (AL) president, placed another wreath at the altar of the National Memorial as the party chief.

Advisers to the prime minister, Jatiya Sangsad chief whip, whips, AL parliament members and central leaders were also present on the occasion.

Later, Sheikh Hasina signed the visitors’ book kept on the National Memorial premises.

The prime minister and her new cabinet colleagues earlier paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing wreaths at his portrait in front of Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi in the capital.

AL President Sheikh Hasina took oath as the prime minister for the fourth time, the third in a row, with a 47-member council of ministers yesterday, a week after the Awami League-led Grand Alliance’s landslide victory in the 11th parliamentary election held on December 30 last.

The new cabinet comprising 24 ministers, 19 state ministers and three deputy ministers took oath at a state ceremony at Bangabhaban Darbar Hall on Monday afternoon.

President M Abdul Hamid administered the oath of office and oath of secrecy to Sheikh Hasina and her new cabinet members.