Comingdown heavily on BNP leaders for their comments on the Covid-19 situation, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said the government is combating the prevailing coronavirus situation appropriately despite limitations.
“Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is spreading venom against the government keeping himself in home isolation. But they (BNP) don’t stand beside the masses. This is not responsible behaviour,” he told reporters on Monday at a press briefing at his secretariat office here.
The minister said, “I would like to request him (Fakhrul Islam) to evaluate the prevailing Coronavirus situation of Bangladesh comparing with other countries across the globeand not to criticise blindly. If he evaluates the situation from the perspective of reality, he must acknowledge that the situation of Bangladesh is better than many other countries.”
Hasan said, “Our health services and equipment are not same as Europe or America. And we should keep in mind that it (Bangladesh) is one of the densely populated countries in the world. The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working relentlessly in combating the pandemic.”
For this, he said, the death rate is less than the neighbouring countries-India and Pakistan. “Even the rate is less than China, the USA and different European countries. And the government has taken preparationsto face any situation in future also,” said Hasan, also Awami League Joint General Secretary.
Criticising a comment of BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on the jute mills issue, the minister said the government doesn’t take any decision to shut down jute mills rather it (government) takes initiatives for reforming the mills.
He said BNP had shut down the Adamji Jute Mills and many other mills when they were in power. For this, about 60,000 workers of the Adamji Jute Mills and thousands other workers went out of jobs, he added.
On the other hand, the information minister said,Awami League government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reopened many jute mills when it came in power in 1996 and 2009.
He said they (BNP) have failed to criticise the government as a responsible opposition party.
