Highlighting BNP-Jamaat government’s failure and corruption in the country’s power sector, Prime Minister's ICT affairs adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy has said the only achievement of BNP was activating the operation of Tongi Power Station through overhauling on September 3, 2005. Its plaque was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia but the power station tripped even before she could reach Abdullahpur in Uttara after inaugurating it, Sajeeb recalled in a Facebook post accompanied by a visual titled “Reform proposal by Mirza Fazrul quarter: Will BNP revive the power sector that it has destroyed?” Read: August 21 grenade attack planned in Hawa Bhaban: Joy “During their tenure between 2001 and 2006, BNP couldn’t add even a single megawatt to the grid. In the name of generating electricity, Tarique’s (BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman) cohorts with a Hawa Bhaban syndicate looted billions by simply erecting electric posts,” said the commentary in the video. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir vowed before media that if they came to power, they would overhaul the power sector, according to the video posted on Friday night.  

Taking a swipe at Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen for his comment that the people of Bangladesh are living in heaven compared to other countries, BNP on Saturday said it is nothing but a joke with people when they are struggling to survive. “At a time, when the people of the country are suffering every moment and finding it difficult to survive amid miseries, then the foreign minister said we’re living in heaven. It’s ridiculous,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Speaking at a press conference, he also said it is unjustified for AK Momen to ridicule people at a time of their anguish. Fakhrul said the Foreign Minister has made such somewhat ridiculous remarks in the past. “But he has no right to make such a mockery." “I am sorry to speak on a personal level. Lately, what has emerged in his (Momen’s) appearance is that he has become puffed up. What has happened to most of the ministers--let me say in our local language that--their fat has increased, because of widespread plundering,” he observed. Read: Momen accuses BNP of destroying caretaker government system for lust of power The BNP leader said the ministers are ridiculing people only for justifying their plundering. “They have started joking with people about this (power) crisis.” BNP Standing Committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Ismail Zabihullah were present at the press conference.   Earlier on Friday, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen reportedly told journalists in Sylhet that people in Bangladesh are happier than those in many other countries as if they are living in heaven amid the global recession.

Britain announced Tuesday that it plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 — five years earlier than its previous target —  in a bid to speed up efforts to tackle climate change.