politics
Lockdown can’t be fruitful keeping people hungry: GM Quader
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Saturday warned that the nationwide lockdown, set to be enforced on Monday, will not be successful without ensuring food security for the crores of hardcore poor people of the country.
“Hungry people can never be forced to stay indoors. Hunger and lockdown can’t go together,” he said in a statement.
Quader, also the deputy leader of the opposition in parliament, said there is no alternative to lockdown if the Covid pandemic spreads alarmingly.
READ: GM Quader fears dire social consequences of drug abuse
“But there’re crores of hardworking people in the country who don’t have food in their stocks at homes as they manage their food based on their daily income,” he observed.
The Jatiya Party chief also said the poor and the day-labourers have to buy medicines along with food and in some cases baby food. “They also have to pay house rent.”
He said the families of crores of day labourers will suffer badly if they can’t work due to the lockdown. "It'll create a humanitarian catastrophe across the country."
He also fears that the law-and-order situation in the country may collapse if people suffer from the scarcity of food and other necessary things.
GM Quader said the government must ensure food security for the extremely poor and working people on humanitarian ground during the lockdown.
Besides, the authorities concerned will have to take tough measures so that the government’s aid for the poor and destitute is not stolen.
On Friday night, the government announced to enforce a fresh nationwide "strict lockdown" from Monday, as the country grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and fatalities with the highly infectious Delta variant playing havoc.
The restrictions will remain in place for seven days when the government and private offices, barring those of emergency services, will remain shut.
READ: Not possible to tackle Covid with gifted vaccines: GM Quader
The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday recommended imposing a "nationwide shutdown" for two weeks to contain the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.
Govt snatching people’s rights like “Pakistanis”: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday night accused the present government of snatching the rights of people like “Pakistani occupation forces”.
"Those who are now there in power are constantly oppressing people in a bid to establish a one-party governing system by dashing the nation's hopes and aspirations and destroying the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War,” he said.
Speaking at a virtual discussion, the BNP leader also said their party has always been a pro-independence force as it was established by the freedom fighters who fought in the battlefield. “BNP is now spearheading a struggle to restore democracy for which people fought and liberated the country in 1971. We believe people’s struggle will be successful through united efforts.”
The programme was organised by BNP’s national committee on celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the country’s independence, marking the day of bringing back the body of Bir Sreshtho” Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman to the country from Pakistan.
Fakhrul alleged that the government is presenting the distorted history of the Liberation War to mislead the new generation and hide facts. “So, the main objective of our party is to highlight the facts and real history by arranging different programmes on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee.”
Also read: Govt gradually becoming a ‘monster’: BNP
He said their party has no intention to belittle anyone as it wants to honour the freedom fighters and the organisers of the Liberation War what they deserve.
The BNP leader bemoaned that those who led the Liberation War and fought in the battlefield putting their lives at risk are now ignored by the current government.
He said the activities of Awami League exhibit that no one took part in the Liberation War except “one who had been imprisoned in a prison of Pakistan”.
Fakhrul said Awami League does not recall the contributions of MAG Osmani, Tajuddin Ahmed and lakhs of freedom fighters to the Liberation War.
Also read: Corruption amid pandemic making life miserable: BNP
“They’ve started a campaign with all sorts of distorted stories of history to brand martyred President Ziaur Rahman, who declared independence, as a villain."
He urged the BNP leaders and activists to tackle the ruling party’s ‘false’ campaign against Zia by presenting real history before the new generation
BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said Matiur Rahman was buried in Pakistan after he had died in a plane crash following his attempt to defect from the Pakistan Air Force to join the Liberation War.
He said their party chairperson Khaleda Zia, during her rule, brought back the mortal remains of Matiur Rahman to Dhaka from Pakistan on June 24, 2006 and buried that at the Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard in Mirpur. “As Khaleda Zia had been able to do it successfully, the people of the country can now pay their respects to the most valiant hero, Matiur Rahman, by visiting the graveyard.”
BNP protests water tariff hike, submits memo to Wasa
BNP on Thursday submitted a memorandum to the office of the managing director (MD) of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), protesting the increase in water tariff.
BNP Dhaka south city unit president Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel and Dhaka north city unit senior vice-president Munshi Bazlul Basit Anju handed over the memorandum to the authorities concerned at Wasa Bhaban in the capital.
Addressing the Wasa MD, the party mentioned in the memorandum that the decision to raise water tariff by Dhaka Wasa during the Covid pandemic that caused public sufferings in many ways is inhumane, undesirable, illogical, anti-people and it goes against the fundamental rights. “It seems to add salt to injuries.”
Read: BNP seeks govt's prompt steps to send Khaleda abroad
It also said the cost of living will increase along with the increase in public sufferings if the water tariff is raised during this difficult time of the Covid epidemic.
“On behalf of the residents of Dhaka, BNP’s Dhaka south and north units strongly condemn and protest the hike in water tariffs and demand the immediate cancellation of this anti-people decision,” the memorandum reads.
Read: BNP resorting to politics of violence, says Quader
The party also demanded the Wasa ensure uninterrupted supply of safe and pure drinking water to all city dwellers by stopping corruption, plundering, irregularities and waywardness.
In the memorandum, BNP said water tariff has been tripled in the last 13 years with 14th-time hikes, but it could not ease the suffering s of the city dwellers.
In its 279th board meeting in March last, Wasa decided to increase the prices of water by 5% for residential and commercial uses which will be effective from July 1.
As per the new decision, the prices of each unit (1,000 litres) of water will be Tk 15.18 for residential use and Tk 42 for commercial use. Dhaka Wasa also hiked water prices by about 25% last year.
Awami League pays homage to Bangabandhu on its founding anniversary
The Awami League, the oldest and largest political party in Bangladesh, celebrated its 72nd foundation day on Wednesday with low-key events because of surging corona pandemic in the country.
The anniversary programmes began in the morning with the hoisting of the national and party flags at Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhaka’s 32 Dhanmondi and the Awami League central office at Bangabandhu Avenue.
The ruling party and its affiliate organisations paid homage to the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by placing wreaths at his portrait at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
The party also hoisted the national and party flags at its offices across the country.
A delegation from the Awami League Central Working Committee (ALCWC) placed wreaths at 10 am at the mausoleum of Bangabandhu in his birthplace of Tungipara in Gopalganj, while presidium member Lt Col Muhammad Faruq Khan (Retired), Jahangir Kabir Nanak, organisational secretary SM Kamal Hossain, Mirza Azam, Shahabuddin Farazi, and Syed Abdul Awal Shamim attended the programme on behalf of party.
Also read: AL founding anniversary: PM pays homage to Bangabandhu
Alongside, a discussion programme marking the foundation day was held at 4 pm at the party's central office on Bangbhabandhu Avenue where its President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually attended the programme.
Awami League was founded on this day in 1949, which later transformed into the largest political party of the country to lead struggles for freedom, the War of Liberation and all democratic movements under the leadership of Bangabandhu.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tributes to Bangandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, placing wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi-32 in the morning.
After laying the wreath, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of Awami League, stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memory of the Father of the Nation.
Party leaders paid tributes to Bangabandhu by placing a floral wreath at Bangabandhu’s portrait at Dhanmondi Road no-32 in the morning.
The party began its journey on June 23 in 1949, when a young, secular and progressive section of the Muslim League formed the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League, at a meeting in the historic Rose Garden on KM Das Lane in Dhaka’s Tikatuli.
Maulana Abdul Hamid Bhashani was elected as the founding president, and Shamsul Hoque was named the general secretary.
In July 1953, during the Second National Council meeting of the party, Bhashani was re-elected president, and Sheikh Mujib was named the new general secretary.
Not possible to tackle Covid with gifted vaccines: GM Quader
Voicing deep concern over the uncertainty of getting vaccines by Bangladesh, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Wednesday said it is not possible to deal with a pandemic like Covid-19 with inadequate jabs coming as gifts and donations.
“Vaccines are being used worldwide as the main weapon in the fight against the pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, it’s possible to return to normal life by bringing 80 percent of people under vaccination and many countries are achieving that goal,” he said.
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, came up with the remarks while unveiling the cover of a book on Jatiya Party founder HM Ershad at the party chairman’s Banani office.
He said the Health Ministry is only making the assurances of getting vaccines every day without any visible success. “Bangladesh has completely failed when it comes to vaccination diplomacy. The health minister is breathing a sigh of relief after receiving 5 to 10 lakh vaccines as gifts from different countries. But ensuring vaccines for 18 crore people is still far cry.”
Also read: GM Quader fears dire social consequences of drug abuse
The Jatiya Party chief said frustration has gripped people as there is no credible information in the government's announcement to collect vaccines. “People want to have a clear announcement by the government about getting vaccines.”
He said the developed and underdeveloped countries have already started mass vaccination programmes by working out their roadmaps. “People in all those countries know when their vaccination programme will end. But, no one in our country knows when we’ll be able to start mass vaccination (in full swing).”
GM Quader said the government did not keep an alternative source for procuring vaccines for lack of farsightedness, though their party repeatedly advised it to do so.
He said there is no clear allocation made in the national budget for the procurement of the vaccines instead of mentioning the assurances of receiving it from some countries and organisations, but there is no progress in this regard.
Also read: People lost faith in govt assurance about vaccination: GM Quader
The Jatiya Party chairman said it seems the government does not have any plan to improve the health services at the upazila, district and divisional levels. “We want the government to ensure oxygen support and ICU beds in the public hospitals at the upazila, district and divisional levels. The district-level hospitals should have the facilities for all types of tests.”
He feared that the coronavirus could seriously spread across the country in absence of adequate vaccines, collapsing the medical system. “So, we’ve to systematically improve the medical system of our country. Mega projects need to be undertaken to develop the healthcare system without delay to prevent mass deaths.”
BNP resorting to politics of violence, says Quader
Obaidul Quader, general secretary of Awami League, on Thursday accused Bangladesh Nationalist Party of instigating violence in the country.
Quader said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is displaying great tolerance and patience in the face of various provocations of the opposition.
He described BNP’s politics as monstrous” and said the government is dealing with the situation with utmost tolerance in the face of hundreds of provocations.
Also read: Quader slams BNP for anti-people conspiracy
Noting that the BNP does not want stability in the country, the general secretary of ruling party said the opposition party wants to establish a reign of terror in the country.
He said the BNP's politics is to destroy the resources of the people and the state in the name of movement.
Also read: BNP desperate to regain power through dark ways: Quader
Quader said BNP has to come to the path of election to go to power.
He said his party has confidence in the people because it believes in empowerment of the people.
Lockdown just ‘eyewash’, says BNP
BNP on Tuesday alleged that the government is deceiving the people of the country in the name of lockdown.
"It's not (lockdown) workable. There’s a lockdown in Dhaka officially. Do you see the lockdown anywhere? I can't see the lockdown anywhere,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir he told reports at a press conference.
The BNP leader said people are moving here and there as they wish amid the lockdown. “I saw the day before yesterday a marriage ceremony being held at a hotel, though it’s banned. The government is completely reluctant about it. They’re deceiving people in the name of lockdown --just eyewash.”
BNP arranged the press conference at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office to disclose the outcome of its standing committee meeting held on Saturday.
Fakhrul said the members of law enforcement agencies are supposed to enforce the lockdown, but they have no visible role in this regard.
He alleged that the government has been demonstrating its failures in containing the virus from the very beginning.
Also read: Govt gradually becoming a ‘monster’: BNP
The BNP leader said though their party and experts gave the government some specific suggestions to control the virus outbreak, it did not act accordingly.
He said their party standing committee urged the government to lay out a roadmap for the collection and distribution of Covid vaccines. “People want to know what steps the government is taking to deal with the Covid situation.”
Fakhrul accused the government of hatching a conspiracy with its move to shift the NID Card service to the Home Ministry from the Election Commission. “It’s an ill-motivated step. We condemn such a move and urge the government to stay away from it.”
He said the NID service should remain under the Election Commission since it has a relation with elections.
Also read: Corruption amid pandemic making life miserable: BNP
Referring to UNCTAD report, Fakhrul said foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh has declined by about 11 per cent in 2020 for lack of an investment-friendly atmosphere due to “corruption, extortion and misrule”.
He said the pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh has huge potential for manufacturing Covid vaccines, but the government is not interested in it. “We think all necessary steps should be taken immediately to produce vaccines in Bangladesh and create a proper atmosphere for increasing foreign investment.”
The BNP leader voiced concerns over the recent rise in the price of edible* oil by Tk 38 per litre in the last six months, causing unbearable sufferings to ordinary and unemployed people.
“The Commerce Minister has said there’s no possibility of reducing the oil price. It can’t be accepted in any way. The minister should resign shouldering the responsibility for the government's failure to control the prices of essential commodities,” he said.
Govt gradually becoming a ‘monster’: BNP
Accusing the police of maiming a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader in Chattogram by shooting him in the leg, BNP on Monday alleged that the government has illegally been using law enforcers to make its narrow political gains.
In a statement, he said police arrested JCD Chattogram city unit’s former assistant general secretary Saiful Islam on June 17 from Bayezidbotami area without any warrant and shot him in the leg.
He said Saiful was brought to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in the capital in a critical condition where his left leg had to be amputated.
“We’ve no word to condemn this horrible, brutal and demonic incident. When it’s the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of public life and property, some of their members are now arbitrarily killing, torturing and crippling opposition leaders and ordinary people to appease those in power,” Fakhrul said.
He said the disgusting act of the police against student leader Saiful is not acceptable in any way under the law of the land as it is a crime against humanity.
“The government has continued its heinous and vindictive attitude towards opposition leaders and activists and common people to cement its ‘immoral and authoritarian’ rule. The government is unjustly abusing various law enforcement agencies for its own interests,” the BNP leader said.
He alleged that the current government is pushing the country towards a serious crisis instead of working for the welfare of people out of arrogance of power. “A reign of terror has been established across the country by resorting to murders, abductions, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.”
The BNP leader said the current government has been trying to perpetuate its power through spreading panic among people with its repressive acts by law enforcers. “It’s gradually becoming a monster.”
He called upon all, irrespective of party affiliation, to unite and put up a resistance against such demonic ‘monstrous’ behaviour of the government.
Fakhrul urged the government to put under trial those involved in shooting and maiming Saiful unlawfully.
He also demanded unconditional release of the crippled JCD leader.
Politics in Bangladesh is too polarized and divisive, says Obaidul Quader
Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, said on Monday that the country’s politics has become “so polarized and divisive” that major political parties fail to reach any understanding on common national issues like corona pandemic.
“From our party we have tried to establish a workable co-existence with the BNP. But there has been no positive response from them,” Quader said during a meeting with members of the Overseas Correspondents Association (OCAB) at his Bangladesh Secretariat office.
Also read:Quader warns tough action against errant party members
He recalled how BNP leader Khaleda Zia rebuffed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s repeated gesture to have a dialogue with her in the past.
Quader said 15th August, the day Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975, is a very emotional issue not only for the Awami League, but for the entire nation.
“But how can Khaleda Zia celebrate the 15th August as her birthday? You know she has already five birthdays. How is it possible?,” he wondered.
Also read:Quader slams BNP for anti-people conspiracy
He said it was BNP founder Ziaur Rahman who granted indemnity to the killers of Bangabandhu. So, it is crystal clear that he was involved with the assassination of the father of the nation.
During the meeting the Awami League leader discussed state of country’s politics, government drive to procure Covid-19 vaccine, the Rohingya problem and the rapid progress in the implementation of some mega projects like Padma Bridge and Bangabandhu tunnel under Karnaphuli rfiver.
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed authorities to procure corona vaccine the soonest from all available sources. “We are trying to get vaccines from China, Russia and the United States,” he said adding the problem may be solved within a couple of months.
On the status of stalled vaccine import from India, Quader said, “We see a ray of hope. But we can’t bank fully on India as we understand they are going through a crisis.”
Also read: AL destroyed liberal democratic politics: BNP
On Rohingya issue he said the international community must do more than just “giving lip service to this problem.” “We are spending 700 million dollars a year to take care of 12 lakh refugees,” he said.
Defending the decision to shift a part of the Rohingyas to Bhasan Char Quader said it was necessary to save the economy, environment, forestry and tourism in the region as well as for their better living.
Bangladeshis’ deposits in Swiss banks increased by 62.6% in 2020: BNP
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday alleged that the accounts of Bangladeshis in Swiss banks are increasing as the government has introduced an “economy of looting”.
“There’s a report in today’s (Saturday’s) newspaper that the accounts of Bangladeshis in Swiss banks are increasing in many ways while second homes are being made in Canada, Malaysia and other countries,” he said.
Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader said, “An economy of plundering has been introduced in the country. There has been looting everywhere. A project of Tk 10,000 crore is becoming a Tk 40,000-50,000 crore one for plundering public money.”
White Panel of Dhaka University teachers arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club, marking the launching of a book on BNP founder Ziaur Rahman.
According to media reports, Bangladeshis’ deposits in Swiss banks increased by 62.6% in 2020 compared to the previous year. Bangladesh is in the third position in South Asia after India and Pakistan in terms of depositing money in Swiss banks in 2020.
Fakhrul alleged that the current government has destroyed everything Bangladesh achieved over the 50 years since its birth. “Our education and health sectors, and the economy and politics have been ruined by the government as it pushed the country towards a one-party rule.”
Stating that the country has been going through a critical juncture, he called upon the university teachers to come forward to overcome this crisis.
The BNP leader accused the government of distorting history by carrying out ‘false campaigns’ in a Goebbels style. "Let’s all work together to overcome the great crisis and free Begum Khaleda Zia and restore democracy.”
Fakhrul urged the Dhaka University teachers to work for the country rising above party politics. “The White Panel of Dhaka University is an organisation of teachers who believe in the philosophy of Bangladeshi nationalism. It seems to me that it won’t be good for the teachers and politics, if it becomes absolutely a party’s organisation.”
He hoped that the White Panel would work to strengthen nationalist politics without getting completely absorbed in the BNP. "You please don't mind as I’m uttering these words from my feelings...it’s unfortunate that our country is now completely divided by Awami League and BNP. It’s important for us to unite the nation.”
Fakhrul bemoaned that Awami League has started a very well-planned campaign that Ziaur Rahman was not the proclaimer of the Liberation War. “Many of them even say he was not a freedom fighter as he was an associate of Pakistanis. They want to make him a villain in many ways. Children are taught that Ziaur Rahman was a killer.”
The BNP leader advised the teachers to carry out research on Zia’s life and work and help the new generation know the real history.
BNP standing committee members Nazrul Islam Khan, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and the senior teachers of Dhaka University’s White Panel addressed the programmes.