BNP leaders go to foreign masters being rejected by people: Quader

News Desk :: Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday said that Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders were going to their foreign masters after they were repeatedly rejected by the country’s people.

‘They (BNP leaders) are doing politics thinking of the foreign ambassadors as their gods,’ he said in a statement.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said that those who did not respect the country’s democratic process and elections, did not believe in the empowerment of the people.

‘They only depend on the foreign powers. That’s why BNP is carrying out propaganda against the country’s interests and its people by employing lobbyists spending a huge amount of money,’ he said.

The AL general secretary said, ‘On the contrary, the Awami League does politics in the public welfare. The AL believes that the commoners are the only source of power. The course of the AL’s politics is determined holding the hopes and aspirations of the people.’

About the power price adjustment, Quader said that talking about electricity did not suit BNP leaders.

He said that BNP-Jamaat coalition was engaged in looting public money by opening Hawa Bhaban during its reign, while they looted Tk 21,000 crore from the power sector.

The World Bank had cancelled financing in the power sector due to the corruption of BNP-Jamaat government, the road transport minister said.

During its 1996-2001 period, he said, the Awami League government increased the power generation to 4,200 megawatts.

But, later on, the BNP-Jamaat coalition came to power and brought down the power generation to 3,100 megawatts, he added.

During the BNP’s reign, there was load-shedding for 18 hours a day, while farmers protesting at for electricity were shot dead, Quader said.

He said that the BNP made mockery with the country’s people by installing only poles instead of giving electricity.

BNP could not increase generation of one megawatt of power but it hiked the price of electricity nine times in five years during its regime, he added.

The AL general secretary said, ‘The power generation capacity has now increased to 29,700 megawatts, thanks to the timely action of the successful statesman, prime minister Sheikh Hasina.’

At present, cent per cent people of the country are getting electricity facilities, he said, adding that the BNP leaders are lying about the increase in electricity prices.

‘This price hike will not affect the general power consumers. To reduce the subsidy in the power sector, the power price will be slightly increased at the level of large customers,’ he said.

Quader said that the BNP leaders talked about freedom of expression, while they were constantly lying freely in front of media and were questioning the freedom of expression too.

People of the country are aware of this duplicity and shameless lying of BNP, he said.

The minister said that the freedom of expression was established and consolidated during the government of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

He said that the present government opened the new door of the freedom of expression by giving approval to more than 50 private television channels, several hundreds of online news portals and new national and regional newspapers.