Opposition speaking in Hasina’s language: Fakhrul

Local Government Minister and BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has accused the opposition of adopting the language of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina by threatening to obstruct the government’s work.

“Our opposition is playing the same role as before and speaking in Hasina’s language—saying ‘we won’t let you continue, we won’t let you work,’” he said.

Fakhrul made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a programme organised by charity organisation Love Share BD to hand over “Tea Ghars” at the Rangpur Shilpakala Academy auditorium on Sunday afternoon.

He urged the opposition to use the language of democracy, saying the people had given the BNP a mandate to run the country.

“They threaten movements at every turn and take to the streets. I urge the opposition to speak in the language of democracy,” he said.

Without naming Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP), the BNP secretary general said, “Their language is that all problems must be solved immediately.”

Referring to the country’s gas shortage, Fakhrul said the Awami League had remained in power for 17 years but had taken no initiative to extract gas from any new gas field. “We have started working on it,” he said.

He also said the Madhyapara Hard Rock Mine in Dinajpur, which had been shut down, had been reopened.

On the energy crisis, Fakhrul said Bangladesh was spending billions of dollars to import oil and gas from abroad. He claimed that the Iran-US war had caused the country losses of around $4 billion in imports and said the government was working to resolve the problem quickly.

Acknowledging that commodity prices had risen somewhat, he said the government was trying to bring prices within people’s purchasing power.

“We are working,” he said.

Fakhrul also urged people not to believe false and misleading information circulating on social media. He accused the previous Awami League government of attempting to portray falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood.

He said the BNP was committed to fulfilling the promises it had made to the people and was working to establish democracy and deliver on those commitments.

Fakhrul also spoke about economic opportunities in the Rangpur-Dinajpur region, saying people in the area were less inclined to seek jobs abroad compared with people from other parts of the country.

He recalled that his father had built a New Market in their area and encouraged locals to buy shops and start businesses, but many declined. He said people from other regions eventually established businesses there and became financially successful, while many locals sold their land and became impoverished.

Fakhrul said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was from northern Bangladesh, while his mother, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, also had roots in the region. He added that former president Ziaur Rahman’s ancestral home was in Bogura.

“We all have to work for the development of this region,” he said.

Addressing Rangpur Development Authority Chairman and Rangpur Metropolitan BNP Convener Shamsuzzaman Shamu, Fakhrul praised his initiative in organising the event and urged everyone to take responsibility for the development of Rangpur division.

He said Tarique Rahman had already begun implementing the pledges made during the election campaign, including the Family Card and Agricultural Card programmes. He also claimed that agricultural loans of up to Tk10,000 had been waived for farmers.

Referring to what he described as years of persecution of Tarique Rahman and BNP leaders, Fakhrul alleged that during the Awami League’s 17-year rule, around 60 lakh cases were filed against BNP leaders and activists and hundreds of thousands were detained.

He further claimed that 2,700 BNP leaders and activists were killed and 4,000 people were killed during the July uprising.

Fakhrul said Tarique Rahman had returned to Bangladesh with a plan and was now working to implement it.

He said the BNP had come to power after winning a majority of parliamentary seats in a free and fair election and that implementation of the prime minister’s election pledges had already begun.

“All the promises will be implemented within three years,” he said.

At the event, Fakhrul handed over tea stalls to 25 beneficiaries. He praised Love Share BD for working to improve the living standards of disadvantaged communities.

Ambassador Mushfiqur Fazal Ansarey, Rangpur District Council Administrator Saiful Islam, Rangpur Development Authority Chairman Shamsuzzaman Shamu, reserved women’s seat MP Rejeka Sultana Fency, Deputy Commissioner Ruhul Amin and other prominent citizens also spoke at the event.

Love Share BD Director Zahid Khan presided over the programme.