PRICE HIKE OF ESSENTIALS, POWER, GAS Police foil left parties’ bid to lay siege to secretariat

Police on Tuesday foiled an attempt of 10 left parties to lay siege to the secretariat protesting at the price hike of essentials, power and gas. 
Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh and Democratic Left Alliance, a platform of eight left parties, had called for laying the siege. 
Leaders and activists of the left parties brought out a procession from in front of the National Press Club about 12:00 noon, which paraded the High Court intersection, Topkhana Road and Purana Paltan intersection. 
The police obstructed the march when it started proceeding towards the secretariat gate, adjacent to the press club. 
Some police personnel got into scuffle with some demonstrators when they tried to break the barricade. 
Addressing a brief protest rally there, Ganasanghati Andolan’s chief coordinator Zonayed Saki termed the proposed budget for the next fiscal ‘anti-people’ and said that the government had prepared such a budget to create scope for looting public money.
Saki blasted the finance minister for imposing more taxes and VAT. He demanded withdrawal of excise duty on savings accounts having Tk 1 lakh. 
He said that the government’s recent hikes of power and gas prices would cause further price hike of essentials, which would be unbearable for the already hard-pressed common people.
Saki demanded immediate scrapping of power and gas prices hike. 
Revolutionary Workers Party general secretary Saiful Huq demanded immediate government steps to keep the prices of rice within the buying capacity of the working class. 
Saiful remarked that the Awami League-led government was again dreaming to go to power without the mandate of the people through a January 5, 2014-like election and warned that this time, AL would not be able to materialise that dream. 
He also warned that the people would unseat the government if their demands were not met immediately.
Other left leaders demanded cancellation of the lease of water-bodies in the haor region in the interest of flood-affected people there.

 

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