If country is self-sufficient in food, why talk of famine now: Fakhrul to PM

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday said the ruling Awami-League (AL) is anticipating famine ahead due to their looting for over a decade. 

The prime minister said the famine is knocking the door. She is hearing the footsteps of famine. So why did she claim earlier that Bangladesh is self-sufficient in food and farmers have no issues, Mirza Fakhrul asked. 

The BNP leader came up with this remark while addressing a rally in front of the party office at Nayapaltan in Dhaka. 

Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal, a wing of BNP, organised the rally demanding to decrease the prices of agricultural equipment, including fertiliser, pesticide, seed and unconditional release of Khaleda Zia.

Although the rally was scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm on Friday, the leaders and activists of the party began arriving in Nayapaltan since the morning. 

Hundreds of people gathered at the rally venue before Fakhrul's speech was delivered.      

In his speech, Mirza Fakhrul said the government is breaking the backbones of the farmers in a planned way. They don’t get the fair price. They cannot irrigate the lands as the price of diesel increased by three to four folds while the power by ten folds -- where will the farmers go?     

He questioned the farmers, are you receiving fair prices now by selling your paddy? No, not at all. Many farmers are giving up paddy cultivation. Many marginal farmers now drive rickshaw and rickshaw vans. They are no longer able to cultivate paddy in their lands.  

BNP standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, vice chairman Shamsuzzaman, Khaleda Zia's advisor Abdus Salam, Amanullah and others also addressed the rally with Krishak Dal president Hasan Zarif in the chair.