Staff Reporter :
The leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have accused the government have failed to control the price hike of daily commodities and it is skyrocketing due to the government’s greed and syndicate.
The BNP leaders called for the removal of the Awami League government and urged to hand over power under a neutral government to handle the crisis.
BNP leaders made the suggestions while speaking at token hunger strike in front of Jatiya Press Club organised by Dhaka North and South city units of BNP protesting the “price hike of daily essentials and ongoing corruption” on Saturday.
The five-hour demonstration began in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka at 10am and ended at 3pm.
Former Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University Professor Anwar Ullah Chowdhury made BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to break fast by drinking water.
Party leaders and activists occupied a section of the road and sidewalk outside the press club to observe the hunger strike to protest against the spiralling prices of essentials and corruption in the country.
Speaking at the programme, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir blamed the government’s failure to control the market for the soaring commodity prices.
“An unelected Awami League (AL) government has completely failed to solve the problems facing the people and created an uneasy situation in the country. If we fail to defeat and oust them (AL) from the office, then existence of people of the country will be at stake,” the BNP Secretary General said.
He said that the government has failed to reduce the prices of all essential commodities, including rice, lentils and edible oil.
“The holy month of Ramzan starts from today. This is an important month for Muslims all over the world. But what is this government doing? Prices are skyrocketing because of the unbridled greed of government officials and their syndicates,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.
Fakhrul also demanded to the government to hand over the power to a neutral government and hold a free and fair election by forming a neutral commission.
The BNP leaders said and urged the party activists to send a message to the government that people do not have any confidence in them by observing symbolic hunger strike.
The AL-led government must have to step down from the office, they added.
Centring the programme, party leaders and activists started thronging at the venue since the morning with banners, festoons. They chanted slogans demanding reduce of the prices of daily essentials and release of their leader Khaleda Zia, also the Chairperson of the BNP.
Law enforcers took positions at different points adjacent to the venue including Mathsya Bhaban, Paltan and Press Club.
Among others, BNP’s standing committee members Dr Khondaker Mosharraf Hossain, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, Nagorik Oikya president Mahmudur Rahman Manna, BNP’s Vice-Chairman Ahmed Azam Khan, Dhaka South City convener Abdus Salam, Dhaka North City convener Aman Ullah Aman, joint secretary Khairul Kabir and organizing secretary Fazlul Haq also spoke on the occasion.
