Ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is stepping up its political and organisational activities amid a series of programmes by opposition parties led by Jamaat-e-Islami and activities by the Awami League, whose activities have been banned in the country.
According to party sources, organisational instructions have been issued to prepare counter-programmes at the field level. The party has already begun holding what it calls “undeclared” programmes in Dhaka and elsewhere.
BNP leaders, however, say they are not organising the programmes because of any pressure, but to counter what they describe as “propaganda” by the opposition and activities of the Awami League.
Speaking to several senior BNP leaders, Prothom Alo learned that sudden fuel price hikes amid economic difficulties and other pressures have created unease within the party. Jamaat-e-Islami, the National Citizen Party (NCP) and several other opposition parties have already been carrying out various programmes. The fuel price hike has added a new issue to their programmes.
The recent activities of the Awami League have also concerned BNP policymakers. BNP leaders have accused the Awami League of involvement in incidents of violence and arson targeting buses and trains in Dhaka and elsewhere. According to party sources, these developments have caused concern within the BNP.
Several senior government officials and ministers told Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity that the government’s image is declining with each passing day. In this situation, they said, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s personal image is currently the government’s only asset.
‘Undeclared’ programmes and organisational preparations
Party sources said the protest marches and rallies that the BNP has been holding in Dhaka and different parts of the country in recent days are primarily counter-programmes to those of the opposition parties and part of the party’s effort to demonstrate its political position against Awami League activities. Instructions have also been issued to step up organisational activities at the district and metropolitan levels.
The BNP held a virtual meeting with leaders from the Chattogram division last Friday. BNP Standing Committee member and the prime minister’s political adviser Nazrul Islam Khan, Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Special Secretary Belayet Mridha attended the meeting.
A meeting with leaders from the Dhaka division is expected to be held within a few days. Party sources said Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman may attend the meeting.
The nature of the BNP’s organisational activities indicates that the party is attaching importance not only to the government’s administrative work but also to remaining politically active on the ground.
The 11-party alliance led by Jamaat held long marches from Dhaka to Chattogram on 5 September and from Dhaka to Rangpur on 19 September.
The programmes were held with demands including resolving the fuel and electricity crisis, controlling commodity prices, improving law and order, and ending corruption and extortion.
Alliance coordinator AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad said at the programmes that the government was feeling pressure because of these activities.
Meanwhile, fuel prices were increased on 21 September, by Tk 20 per litre. Jamaat, the NCP, Khelafat Majlis and Islami Andolan Bangladesh, among several other parties, held programmes in protest.
They said people were already under pressure from rising commodity prices and that higher fuel prices would further increase transportation, agricultural, industrial and everyday consumer costs.
The government says the cost of fuel and transportation in the international market has risen because of the war in the Middle East. As prices are higher in several neighbouring countries, there is also a risk of cheaper fuel being smuggled out of the country.
State Minister for Energy Aninda Islam said that if prices had not been increased, the government would have faced a subsidy or loss burden of around Tk 400 billion a year on diesel alone and around Tk 500 billion on all petroleum products.
Speaking about this, Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), told Prothom Alo that given the rate at which fuel prices have risen in the global market, the government had little alternative but to raise prices.
However, he said the increase had been too high. In particular, a smaller increase in diesel prices would have reduced pressure on ordinary people and industries. He stressed the need for prompt price adjustments when global prices fall.
BNP says there is ‘no pressure’
BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said at several meetings and rallies that the government is not responsible for the increase in fuel prices.
He argued that the fuel crisis had emerged because of the war in the Middle East and the situation in the international market.
According to him, even after the price increase, the government will incur a loss of around Tk 70 per litre of diesel.
Regarding the BNP’s political programmes, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told Prothom Alo that the party was not holding programmes because of any pressure.
He said opposition parties were holding one programme after another and spreading propaganda to mislead people. “This confusion must be dispelled,” he said.
He also alleged that the Awami League was deliberately carrying out acts of violence and arson with the aim of creating instability. According to him, the BNP is holding political programmes to counter what he called the opposition’s misinformation and to confront “fascist forces”.
AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, central assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, however, told Prothom Alo that the fuel crisis is an issue for both the government and the opposition.
He said opposition parties were holding programmes out of a sense of responsibility to help resolve the problem, not to put pressure on anyone. Sending a message to the government to remain accountable and alert is also a form of cooperation, he said.
Overall, amid a series of programmes by opposition parties and activities by the Awami League, the BNP is also increasing its political and organisational presence on the ground.
The party’s leaders, however, do not want this to be described as a response to pressure from the opposition. They say they are stepping up their programmes and organisational preparations to counter what they describe as “propaganda” by opposition parties, respond to Awami League activities and present their own political position to the public.