BNP patronises syndicates, hoarders: Quader

Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is sponsoring and supporting the hoarders and syndicates to create an anarchic situation regarding commodity prices.

He said this at a press conference at the political office of the AL president at Dhanmondi in the capital on Saturday.

"BNP nurtured the syndicate. It patronised the hoarders. Would it be wrong to say so? Those who are doing these activities are the old syndicates created by BNP," he said.

Noting that the past BNP-led government was a business-oriented one, he said AL did not come to do business here.

There is no reason to think that the government has given up on controlling commodity prices, he said, adding that the evil forces which are trying to hatch conspiracies by hiking commodity prices and dissatisfying the common people to foil the ruling government's schemes will not be spared in any way.

AL general secretary said that the government is providing enough subsidy on electricity.

"The government wants to reduce this subsidy gradually. That is why coordination has become necessary. If we want to maintain the electricity facility, then we have to make the adjustment," he added.

Obaidul Quader said while BNP was in power, it increased the price of electricity nine times in five years.

Even people suffered 18 hours load-shedding a day, he added.

Mentioning that the AL government has given cent percent electricity, he said during the government of Sheikh Hasina, the power generation capacity has increased to 29,700 thousand megawatts.

About the statements of BNP leaders that ''BNP will bring back democracy and the government will definitely fall in this movement', he said an election has been held in the country recently where BNP did not participate.

Instead of taking part in the polls, BNP carried out terrorist activities in the name of movement.

"With their arson terrorism, they have again shown that BNP can play a terrible role in the name of movement," Quader said.

He said the BNP failed in the past as people did not support this party.

Noting that BNP is doing wrong and negative politics, he said someday, BNP men will surely admit that they are wrong in carrying out this movement.

"The biggest mistake of BNP is not to participate in the elections," he added.

Obaidul Quader said that even though BNP did not participate in the upazila elections as a party, the grassroots leaders will join the election to protect their existence.

"We are not participating in polls (upazila election) with party symbols. In such a situation, many of the BNP will join it as independent candidates," he said.

Quader believed that many BNP leaders will take part in the polls as there is a question of survival at the grassroots level.

Stating that there is a crisis in the economy at present, the bridges minister said the government is not responsible for it.

As the war is expanding in world, the effect on the economy is natural, he said, adding that thus, prices of goods are increasing.

"But the government is working diligently to keep the prices within the purchasing power of the people. The Prime Minister has instructed the ministries and everyone is working in light of it," he said.

Regarding the news published in the media about the huge wealth of a former minister of the government abroad, he said that no one involved in corruption would be exempted even if he or she is a minister.

AL Organizing Secretaries BM Mozammel Haque and Mirza Azam, Science and Technology Affairs Secretary Abdus Sabur and Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan were present, among others, on the occasion.