BNP threatens movement if gas price is hiked

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday warned that the party will not accept any gas price hike, as it will only inflict sufferings on people.

"Our position is clear about the government's move to hike gas prices. Neither we nor the country's people will accept it," he said.

Fakhrul was addressing a press conference at BNP's Nayapaltan central office after a joint meeting of the party and its associate bodies.

He also threatened that the party will take all-out protest programmes if the gas tariffs are increased.

About the Bangladesh part of US State Department's annual country report on human rights practices, the BNP leader said it has depicted the real scenario of the country's human rights situation and December 30 polls.

The report released on March 13 said unlawful or political killings, forced disappearances, life-threatening prison conditions, limitation of freedom of speech, and many other issues were the most significant human rights problems in Bangladesh last year.

The report termed the December 30 parliamentary election a "lopsided" one and said it was considered to be marred by irregularities, including ballot-box stuffing and intimidation of opposition polling agents and voters.

Fakhrul said not only the US State Department but also all other global media outlets, including CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian and The Washington Post clearly said it was not an election at all. "They also said people's opinion and desire were not reflected in the polls as they couldn't cast their votes."

The BNP leader said even Indian media depicted what happened in the election.

He alleged that Bangladeshi media could not properly report on the election due to a serious censorship on them. "Still, they're vocal about it as much as possible for them."

"We're very respectful to the media, and we thank them for the role they're playing in such an adverse situation," Fakhrul said.

"One-party rule has been established in the country. Now people have no security and they don't get justice. We've been witnessing for nearly 10-12 years that those the government doesn't like are being killed and made disappeared," the BNP leader observed.

BNP Vice Chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretaries general Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal and Khairul Kabir Khokon, among others, took part in the meeting chaired by Fakhrul.