Traffic pressure, no traffic jams during Eid journey: Obaidul Quader

There is pressure of vehicles on the roads during Eid travel, but no traffic congestion. Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader has instructed concerned quarters not to set up cattle markets randomly or party vehicles carrying sacrificial animals here and there.

He was speaking at the Awami League president's office in Dhanmondi of the capital.

Obaidul Quader said that the state of the roads will cause any traffic jams. Now, during the rule of Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has better roads than ever before. There are traffic jams to an extent because of the vehicles carrying the sacrificial animals and the cattle markets. Those who have been given the responsibility to ensure that the cattle markets are not set up randomly or vehicles parked here and there, will carry out their duty properly. It is hard to avoid sufferings when it rains. Duties must be carried out duly and monitoring must be set up to avoid unforeseen accidents and deaths.

Inflation is causing sufferings all over the world, said the Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, adding that inflation is a cause for concern in Bangladesh too. He said that the government did not hide anything in this regard. The budget is realistically balanced. The budget was placed in parliament after much thought and consideration under the leadership of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Obaidul Quader said that Europe had been concerned over inflation too. Their inflation had nearly hit 10 per cent. Argentina has an inflation rate of 300 per cent. Turkey, the country with global influence, has an inflation rate of 73 per cent. Inflation is not in a good shape in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and other neighbouring countries either.

Referring to BNP's corruption, the Awami League general secretary said that today the corrupt ones are taking against corruption. BNP is corrupt from top to bottom. The party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman is the epitome of corruption. BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam issued a statement to make him seem to be a good man. Mirza Fakhrul does a lot of things under his threats. He is saying now that Tarique cannot be punished. Obaidul Quader said, Tariq Rahman has been convicted. He now must be brought back and his sentence carried out, the prime minister has said. For as long as Tarique Rahman remains in BNP's leadership, BNP will not be able to independently express itself politically.

The Awami League general secretary said that if BNP joined the election, it would not fare as badly as before. He said, given the overall circumstances, they had that opportunity. There is no reason to depict Tarique Rahman as a good man. He suddenly dropped section seven from BNP's constitution which states that any convicted or corrupt person cannot be the party's leader.

Speaking of the district Awami League general secretary being taken on remand because of the killing of the MP Anwarul, Obaidul Quader said that one cannot be called guilty before trial or punishment, that is the rule. Has there been any instance during BNP's  rule or General Ershad's rule of a district secretary being taken on remand? Awami League has the moral courage to carry out justice.

In response to Mirza Fakhrul's remark that the present government is BNP's enemy, the Awami League general secretary said, the only government that can be BNP's friend in this country is the government that gives it assurance of winning with absolute majority in the election.

Present at the press briefing were Awami League joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organising secretaries BM Mozammel Huq, Mirza Azam, Afzal Hossain, Sujit Roy Nandi, office secretary Biplob Barua, education and human resource secretary Shamsunnahar Chapa, relief and social welfare secretary Aminul Islam Amin, deputy office secretary Sayem Khan and others.