You weren’t placed in power to sign secret deals with foreigners: Rizvi

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has strongly criticised the chief adviser of the interim government, professor Muhammad Yunus.

“This November alone, 53 people have died from dengue. Dengue and chikungunya have taken on a frightening scale across the country. What measures has your government taken to control dengue? Instead of addressing these issues, your government is entering into secret agreements just like Sheikh Hasina did. You were not placed in power to make clandestine deals with foreigners,” he said.

Rizvi made these remarks today, Sunday, while speaking to journalists during a visit to provide financial assistance to an impoverished family in Patuakhali.

Criticising the chief adviser further, he said, “People want to live; they want assurance of two square meals a day. You are not paying attention to that. There is no effort to regulate the market. Farmers are being crushed. If someone buys rice, they cannot afford potatoes. Protect the low-income people and the farmers; show that this is truly a pro-people government.”

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi further said that the country now has an opportunity to correct past mistakes and forge a new path. “There is now a chance to fulfil the expectations of the people by prioritising the independence, sovereignty and national security of the country.”

Accusing the interim government of failing to meet public expectations, the senior BNP leader said, “Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina signed an agreement with India’s power company Adani so that India would keep her in power. Sheikh Hasina never signed deals in the interest of the country. She made numerous secret agreements with India purely to remain in office. And now we see the beginning of the era of Dr Yunus. Surely there will be agreements with foreign companies if it is in the national interest. But no deal can be allowed that undermines the sovereignty and security of the country.”

The BNP leader continued, “We are now hearing that Chittagong port has allegedly been handed over to a foreign company. With whom have these agreements been signed? Under what terms? The people of this country have an absolute right to know. These are the same kinds of clandestine deals Sheikh Hasina’s government used to make. If such strategically vital sea ports and river ports are handed over to foreigners, then questions will inevitably arise about the nation’s security.”

Addressing the chief adviser directly, Rizvi said, “The responsibility of the interim government is to ensure a free and fair election, not to sign secret deals. Focus on these matters. The public is no longer willing to accept such actions. Why are these things happening in the country? People are now asking many questions.”

BNP leaders said that Abdul Gani Jamaddar, 70, and his wife Mumtaz Begum, 50, from a village in Patuakhali Sadar upazila, had been living for a long time in severe deprivation, often going without food. When details of their condition spread on social media, it came to the attention of BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman. He then instructed Ruhul Kabir Rizvi to visit Patuakhali and stand by the destitute family.

Rizvi was accompanied during the visit by Atiqur Rahman, convener of the “We are BNP Family” platform, district BNP president Snehangshu Sarkar, general secretary Mojibur Rahman, and various other leaders and activists of the party.