Staff Reporter:
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday criticized the government for its failure to control the soaring prices of essential goods and provide relief to the general public.
“If the prices of potatoes remain between Tk70 to Tk75 per kilogram, the public’s trust in the interim government will continue to erode,” he said.
Speaking at a rally, he questioned why the government has not taken action against the companies that control the prices of essential items such as eggs and oil. “Why aren’t you taking action against the market syndicates? Why are the prices of eggs still soaring? Why are the prices of soybean oil still exorbitant?”
He said the condition of low-income people, such as farmers, rickshaw-pullers, and CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers, has not improved even after the mass uprising.
“People were expecting to see some relief, but if they don’t get that, the democratic spirit, the sacrifices, the bloodshed, and the many lives lost will have all been in vain,” the BNP leader bemoaned.
He criticized some advisers for making reckless statements and acting as per their whims while ordinary people continue to suffer. “This cannot be allowed to continue.”
“A revolutionary government’s advisers must themselves be revolutionary, with a dynamic mindset. Individuals disconnected from the people can never work for the benefit of the masses,” Rizvi said.
The rally was organized by general rickshaw-pullers in front of BNP’s Naya Paltan Central Office, protesting the killings of their fellow drivers during the student-led mass uprising.
Rizvi urged the interim government to take responsibility for the families of the victims, as well as for those injured and maimed during the July-August revolution.
Referring to his recent visit to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), he said: “I saw many people still crying for help in the hospital, having lost their hands, legs, and eyesight. Won’t the state take responsibility for them? The state must take responsibility.”
