Govt has become nervous due to unpopularity, says Tofail

Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed, who came out of jail Friday, said the government looked "nervous" as it is taking recourse to "repressive actions" against the opposition as well as professionals.

"This is a sign of nervousness of the government," he told UNB commenting on the prevailing political situation in the country.

Tofail, the former industry minister, said since the alliance government came to power by means of "rigging", it got perplexed and unleashed "oppression on the opposition, minorities" and others.

"The government just cannot stand any criticism and this happens when a government becomes unpopular," he observed a day after coming out of jail spending a month behind bars.

About the situation in prisons, Tofail said hundreds of innocent people are languishing in jails, and many of them don't know why. The government even arrested foreign journalists and "humiliated" them.

In a swinging criticism the ex-minister said: "No one knows who is running the country."

He observed that the entire country is restless and there is no security of the people, "including those in power".

The Awami League presidium member further noted that the administration is totally "puzzled and deputy commissioners and police superintendents cannot take any decision for fear".

On the US decision putting Bangladesh on the list of suspects, he felt that for the first time Bangladesh became totally isolated from the international community.

"What the Awami League government had achieved in five years has been totally destroyed by this government," he alleged.

About possible reasons behind the US government's decision, Tofail said: "The whole world knows that there are fundamentalists in this government."

He, however, termed unfortunate the US decision against a democratic, moderate Muslim country like Bangladesh. But he sees it as total failure of the government. "The country is heading for an unimaginable situation," said the Awami League leader.