BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said the ruling party leaders should not forget the much-awaited Padma Bridge is not an ancestral property of Awami League as it is being constructed with public money.

“Sheikh Hasina is now bragging about constructing the Padma Bridge. We would like to say that Padma Bridge is not yours alone and it is not the ancestral property of Awami League,” he said.

Speaking at a rally, the BNP leader said the Padma Bridge is being built with the money of the country’s people and taxpayers.

BNP’s Dhaka south and north city units arranged the rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club protesting what they said was the Prime Minister’s ‘indecent’ comment on Padma Bridge involving Khaleda.

Also read: BNP again seeks PM’s apology for Padma Bridge remark on Khaleda

Hundreds of leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies joined the programme.

Fakhrul raised an allegation of widespread corruption in the Padma Bridge project. “People want to know how much money you have taken from people and how much you have spent on constructing the Padma Bridge. They also want to know how much money you have pocketed through corruption.”

He also said people are also eager to know how much money the future generation will have to spend to repay the foreign loan that was taken for the construction of the bridge.

The BNP leader also strongly protested and condemned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina‘s remark about pushing Khaleda Zia into the river from the Padma Bridge.

He also came down hard on the government for what he said was its failure to check the growing prices of daily essentials. “The common people are struggling to cope with the soaring prices of essentials while the backs of our farmers, workers and day-labourers are pushed against the wall. It’s now difficult for them to survive.”

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The BNP leader also said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself has kept confined to her residence to avoid the wrath of the country’s people. “You are afraid of people. That's why you don't come in front of people.”

Accusing Awami League of destroying democracy and snatching people’s rights in a planned way, Fakhrul urged the ruling party to step down by handing over power to a non-party neutral government, paving the way for holding a fair and credible election under an impartial election commission.