Govt made the country bottomless again: Mirza Abbas

Mirza Abbas, a standing committee member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has claimed that the founder of his party, Ziaur Rahman, had uplifted the country from what was once referred as a "bottomless basket’ during his three-year rule.

But the current government has once again pushed Bangladesh into the previous bottomless state, he alleged while speaking at a public prayer in front of the BNP headquarters in Dhaka on Friday, marking the death anniversary of Ziaur Rahman. 

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was scheduled to attend the programme as the chief guest, but he fell sick suddenly and could not participate. Later, Mirza Abbas attended the programme as the chief guest.  

A large number of policemen were deployed in the Naya Paltan area on the occasion. Various armoured vehicles were also stationed in Nayapaltan, Nightingale Mor, and Paltan police station areas. However, no untoward incidents were reported. 

In his speech, Mirza Abbas criticised the recent hike in fuel prices, noting that the growing commodity prices are already straining lives. “Further increase in fuel price by Tk 2.5 per litre paves the way for further hike in commodity prices. It impacts all sectors.”  

The BNP leader alleged that the current government has established an empire for plunderers.

“We heard about ‘bargis’ (plunderers) who used to come, loot, and disappear. Now, the ‘bargis’ are in power here. They do not leave after looting, rather they launder assets abroad,” he said.  

Regarding the future of his party he said those who think the BNP will not survive have been proven wrong. BNP will survive forever in the hearts of the people.

The programme was presided over by Abdus Salam, convener of the party’s Dhaka south city unit. Among others, standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, and Dhaka north unit member secretary Aminul Haque were present.