Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader on Friday feared that the debt burden can make Bangladesh bankrupt.  

“The country's debt is 16 lakh crore. The situation of the country can be dire when this loan will have to be repaid with interest in the future,” he said.

GM Quader was addressing a public rally at Jurain Railway Gate  in the capital organised by Jatiya Party’s Shyampur and Kadamatli thana unit’s marking the third death anniversary of party founder HM Ershad. 

Stating that there are many similarities between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, he said Sri Lanka's tourism sector has been affected during the corona crisis.  

“But Sri Lanka has not gone bankrupt after ten years of civil war. It has become bankrupt just because of debt burden.  Again, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have the same political reality. That’s why Bangladesh can face a dire situation like Sri Lanka,” the Jatiya Party chief observed.

He alleged that there is no accountability anywhere in Bangladesh like in Sri Lanka. 

“The Liberation War was waged not to see such a country. The heroic martyrs sacrificed their lives not to get a king in the country.  The Liberation War was waged to get the representatives of the people. But unfortunately we have got the king of the people,” Quader viewed.

Pointing at the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, he said it was a debt-dependent document. “There’s no allocation in the budget for working people and for reducing unemployment,” he said. 

The Jatiya Party chief also said the prices of essential items are increasing, but the government has no focus on the issue.

He urged the government to take steps for keeping the prices of the essentials at a tolerable level, even by giving subsidies.

The JP leader alleged that thousands of crores of taka are being siphoned off abroad from the country through mega projects.  

“We don't want any more mega projects.  We want people to eat and live and get good treatment easily at hospitals,” he said.