BNP to rally countrywide against onion price hike

Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday decided to hold countrywide demonstrations on Monday protesting against the skyrocketing price of onion and other daily essential commodities.

The party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, after a meeting of the party’s standing committee at its chairperson’s office at Gulshan in Dhaka, informed journalists of the decision.

The decision followed sale of onion in markets across the country at Tk 230 to Tk250 a kilogram.

Fakhrul blamed government-backed syndicate for hiking the price. ‘We condemn the failure of the government in containing price hike of daily essential commodities.’

Criticising the government for recent rail and road accidents, he said, ‘how can the trains remain on tracks when the government has derailed’. 

Fakhrul said the party would attend the November 28 public hearing on power price hike to present the party’s stand on the issue. ‘Standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku will lead the BNP team.’

He said they would file another appeal seeking the party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s bail. ‘She is seriously ill. We hope that the judiciary, being independent, would allow her bail she deserved. We hope that we would get justice from the court.’

He criticised the prime minister’s recent threat against the Jahangirnagar University protesters demanding its vice-chancellor Farzana Islam’s resignation and said the BNP considers the students and teachers’ movement just. ‘We support the movement.’

He thanked the International Criminal Court for approving to initiate probes against Myanmar and criticised the government for its lack of proper initiatives to solve Rohingya crisis.

‘Our government, being affected by Rohingya crisis, did not lodge the case while Gambia government lodged case against Myanmar for crimes against Rohingyas.’

He said they will send a letter to the prime minister Sheikh Hasina within a day or two to publish the deals with India during her latest India visit.

Fakhrul called on the Jatiya Sangsad for taking steps against Jatiya Party secretary general Mashiur Rahman Ranga for his October 10 derogatory remarks on Noor Hossain who sacrificed his life on November 10, 1987 for the cause of democracy.

 ‘We condemn his remarks. Such remarks cannot be expected from someone holding such a post,’ he said.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net