Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has announced rallies for Thursday in all metropolitan cities, including Dhaka, in protest against the hike in electricity tariffs.

In a statement on Wednesday, the party strongly condemned the decision hiking the electricity prices and demanded its immediate withdrawal, along with measures to control rising commodity prices.

It said the protest rally in Dhaka will be held at the North Gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque at 5:00pm.

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In the statement, Party Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar alleged that the government is “engaged in an extreme and cruel game of cutting the pockets of the common people.”

He said the increase in electricity prices ahead of the national budget is unjust and will further burden low- and middle-income groups already struggling with rising costs of essential goods.

The Jamaat leader said, according to a Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) order, the average wholesale electricity price has been increased from Tk 7 to Tk 8.39 per unit, while the average retail price has risen from Tk 9.11 to Tk 10.63.

He also noted that transmission charges have increased by around 24 percent.

Porwar warned that the price hike will raise production costs in industry and agriculture, disrupt business activities, and push up the prices of daily essentials such as rice, pulses and edible oil.

He further alleged that the burden of repeated tariff increases was being passed on to consumers to cover what he called corruption, waste and excess payments in the power sector, including capacity charges of quick rental power plants.

The Jamaat leader demanded eradicating corruption and waste in the power sector, and urged the authorities to withdraw the tariff hike in the public interest.

He called on people from all walks of life to participate in their protest programme.