BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday criticised the government for its failure to control the soaring prices of essential goods and provide relief to the general public. “If the prices of potatoes remain between 70 to 75 taka per kilogramme, the public’s trust in the interim government will continue to erode,” he said. Speaking at a rally, he questioned why the government has not taken action against the companies that control the prices of essential items such as eggs and oil. “Why aren’t you taking action against the market syndicates? Why are the prices of eggs still soaring? Why are the prices of soybean oil still exorbitant?” BNP’s Alal demands return of Khaleda’s cantonment house He said the condition of low-income people, such as farmers, rickshaw-pullers, and CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers, has not improved even after the mass uprising. “People were expecting to see some relief, but if they don’t get that, the democratic spirit, the sacrifices, the bloodshed, and the many lives lost will have all been in vain,” the BNP leader bemoaned. He criticised some advisers for making reckless statements and acting as per their whims while ordinary people continue to suffer. “This cannot be allowed to continue.” “A revolutionary government’s advisers must themselves be revolutionary, with a dynamic mindset. Individuals disconnected from the people can never work for the benefit of the masses,” Rizvi observed. Bangladesh now faces new challenges: Shama Obaed The rally was organised by general rickshaw-pullers in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan Central Office, protesting the killings of their fellow drivers during the student-led mass uprising. Rizvi urged the interim government to take responsibility for the families of the victims, as well as for those injured and maimed during the July-August revolution. Referring to his recent visit to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), he said, “I saw many people still crying for help in the hospital, having lost their hands, legs, and eyesight. Won’t the state take responsibility for them? The state must take responsibility.”

Two separate courts in Dhaka have issued arrest warrants against BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and BNP executive committee member Ishraque Hossain. A Dhaka court issued an arrest warrant against Rizvi Ahmed in a case filed over vandalising a garbage truck of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) in the Tejgaon area in December 2012. The court of Dhaka’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate passed the order on Thursday last. Read: BNP leader Ishraque comes under attack by BCL in city The two other accused were known as Khandker Enamul Haque and Kazi Rezaul Haque, said Atiqur Rahman, bench assistant of the court on Monday (December 5). Meanwhile, the court also fixed March 29 of 2023 for the next hearing in the case. Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Monday issued an arrest warrant against thirteen people including BNP leader Ishraque Hossain in a case filed with Motijheel Police in 2020. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury issued the warrant after rejecting the time petition, said sub-inspector Shaha Alam of the general registrar branch of the court under Motijheel Police Station. Read: 75 sued over crude bomb blast in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan office Of the 45 accused, 13 accused of the case filed a time petition before the court without appearing for it. According to the case statement, the accused in collusion with each other set fire on a vehicle in Motijheel area opposite to the Bangladesh Bank, in a bid to foil the Dhaka-18 constituency election on June 24, 2020. Ataur Rahman Bhuiya, the then sub-inspector of Motijheel Police Station filed the case against 42 people at Motijheel Police Station.