TDS Desk:

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Tuesday attributed the government’s decision to raise gas prices to a lack of accountability.

Increasing the price of gas cylinders by Tk19 is an illogical and anti-people decision, Rizvi remarked while speaking to reporters after paying respects at the mausoleum of BNP founder and late president Ziaur Rahman.

According to him, such situations would not arise if there were an elected government in the country.

Rizvi said: “We, as a democratic party, support the interim government. But the government must remember that decisions should not be anti-people or harmful to the poor. The prices of essential goods are already rising daily. The government has failed to reduce the price of rice. If the price of gas also increases, it will only add insult to injury.”

Referring to Sheikh Hasina, he said that she had taken away the power of the people and that power must be returned to them.

He said it is the people of the country who should decide who forms the government, but Sheikh Hasina did not allow that to happen.

The BNP leader said due to the student-led uprising and their sacrifices, Hasina’s authoritarian rule was overthrown, creating an environment for democracy to be restored.

He mentioned that the interim government has a significant role to play in ensuring this democratic environment.

He added: “For the past 16-17 years, the people of this country have not been able to go to the polling stations or cast their votes. The interim government must ensure that people can go to the polling stations and vote freely.”

He also said that the public cannot be misled under the guise of reforms. “BNP has repeatedly said that reforms should be carried out, but along with reforms, a date for democratic elections must be set. The primary responsibility of the interim government is to arrange free and fair elections. Forming a political party or an organization is the responsibility of the individuals involved, not the chief adviser.”