"Whenever Awami League comes to power, the country faces misrule and famine. Bangladesh now has got paralysed due to misrule,” she said.

Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader said, "Famine is knocking on our door. Ordinary people are starving as the prices of essentials have skyrocketed while thousands of youths have become jobless. Even then, they (govt) are in peaceful sleep.”

Pro-BNP student leaders of Dhaka University Central Students Union (Ducsu) and All- Party Students Unity (Apsu) of the 90s arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club marking the 34th martyrdom anniversary of Dr Shamsul Alam Khan Milon during the 90s’ anti-autocratic movement.

Selima, a BNP standing committee member, slammed Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quaer for what she said regularly talking about BNP’s existence and its failure to wage a movement. “Why’re you (Quader) so worried about the existence of BNP? You’ve no reason to be concerned about BNP. But the fact is that you’re sacred of Zia family.”

She also criticised the government for not taking effective steps to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus in Bangladesh at the early stage. "When panicked gripped the entire world with the spread of the corona pandemic, they (govt) said they’re stronger than the virus. In reality, they pushed people towards death without taking preventive measures and ensuring the availability of tests.”

The BNP leader said corona-infected people died on the roads and reused one hospital to another for lack of treatment facilities at the early stage of the virus outbreaks as the government has taken the pandemic as a means of ‘trade’ and making money through ‘corruption’. “The Health Ministry is now on the verge of collapse.”

Selima urged all to get united to save the country from ‘misrule’, famine and restore democracy through a movement.

Also read: BNP to wage movement if energy bill passed