BNP’s ‘no’ to everything is impediment to dev

BNP’s “habit of saying no” to everything the government does is one of the main impediments to development, Minister for Information Hasan Mahmud yesterday said at a seminar in Chattogram.

The seminar, titled “One Decade of Development in Industries and Commerce”, was organised by the Awami League sub-committee on industries and commerce at the Bangabandhu Convention Hall, World Trade Centre in the port city.

“Digital Bangladesh is not just a dream any more, it’s a reality,” he said.

“Ninety-four percent people of the country have been successfully brought under electricity coverage,” he added.

However, he bemoaned the negative politics of BNP. “Bangladesh could have gone further had BNP not engaged in negative politics,” he said.

He mentioned BNP’s “petrol bomb anarchy” and blocking “the lifeline of the country” Dhaka-Chattogram highway four years ago.

The minister stated that no government in the world can do its job perfectly, adding, “We have made some mistakes and we welcome constructive criticism.”

“When I was the minister for environment, we awarded the environment prize to the very newspaper which repeatedly criticised me and even published cartoons on me,” he said.

“I would like to urge the opposition to come up with constructive criticism,” he said.

Additionally, he announced that work on the Bay Terminal in Chattogram port and the expansion of Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport will start soon.

The same programme also had Chattogram City Corporation Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin.

The port city mayor said that “the development of Chattogram means the development of Bangladesh”.

Terming waterlogging a serious issue in the city, the mayor said that a comprehensive project will have to be undertaken to address it.

The VC of Premier University Chattogram Prof Dr Anupam Sen delivered the keynote speech at the seminar while AL lawmaker MA Latif and President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahbubul Alam also spoke. The seminar was chaired by Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmad, chairman of the AL sub-committee on industries and commerce.