Awami League has turned the country into a failed state: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said the Awami League government has turned the country into a failed state in a very well-planned manner.

"The Awami League is looting people's money from the energy sector in the name of quick rental power generation instead of extracting gas from the sea," he was addressing a rally in front of the party's Nayapaltan central office, protesting the "unjustified" hike in fuel prices and the power crisis on Thursday.

Speaking of the energy crisis, Mirza Fakhrul said, "The poor people are the most affected by the fuel price hike as the prices of all essential items will go up further."

"The Awami League has destroyed democracy in the country, snatched people's freedom of speech, journalists cannot write against its misrule, they have destroyed the constitution, they have abolished the caretaker government which is acceptable to all, and the police is working as a certain party force," he said.

He also alleged that the government brought 21 drones from Iran in the name of surveillance on Rohingyas. Actually, they are utilising drones to scrutinise the activities of the country's pro-democratic people.

The BNP Secretary General has urged the people, especially the youth, to get ready to intensify the movement against the incumbent government by taking control of the streets as their victory is inevitable.

"I would like to say to the students and the youth that when we're young we waged a war and liberated the country…the youth have to now wake up once again to liberate the country afresh for ensuring prosperity, justice, parity and building a new Bangladesh," he said.

Fakhrul announced that their party will stage the anti-government movement across the country's villages and upazilas with programmes like rallies and demonstrations from 22 August.

BNP's Dhaka south and north city units arranged the rally protesting the soaring prices of all essential commodities, ongoing load shedding and the killing of two leaders of its associate bodies by police in Bhola.

BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said, "There are no incidents of such a huge jump in energy prices in the world.  BPC has made a profit worth Tk50,000 crores in the last eight years. Subsidising a rental system is eating up the country's reserves in the name of power generation. So, the country's situation is bound to get worse."

Urging people to intensify the movement, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the country's democracy will be restored if Ganabhaban and Bangabhaban can be occupied.

Thousands of leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies gathered in the area blocking both sides of the road stretching from Bijoynagar crossing to Fakirerpool, causing immense suffering to commuters.