Ministers sponsoring market syndicates: Rizvi

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said the government has completely failed to stabilise the market as ministers are the sponsors of market syndicates. 

"But Obaidul Quader and Hasan Mahmud are trying to put the blame on the BNP to hide their failure by creating unnecessary controversy," Rizvi said in a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan central office on Tuesday (27 February). 

He said people are seeking relief in the upcoming Ramadan, but the prices of daily necessities are skyrocketing every day, making essential items unaffordable. "People are seeing their savings get depleted and those without savings are resorting to borrowing, which is adding to the pressure on them."

On Saturday, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader blamed the BNP for price hikes, saying, "The BNP is sponsoring and supporting hoarders and syndicates to create an anarchic situation."

In response, Rizvi said the government's job is not to raise complaints but to take action against those who have created misery in public life by syndicating markets. 

Regarding the increase in electricity prices from March, the BNP leader said, "The anti-people government is walking on the path of destruction to make people's lives miserable."

'AL govt behind BDR mutiny'

At the press briefing, Rizvi said the BDR carnage occurred under the patronage of the AL government, reports UNB.

He made the comment apparently in response to Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud's remark on Monday that the BNP was involved in the mutiny.

"The absence of army operations in Pilkhana, the hospitality offered to the killers, the announcement of general amnesty, and allowing many to flee abroad raised many questions. Many people lost their jobs for raising those questions.

"Secret information leaked by WikiLeaks published on 30 August 2011, testimonies of those involved in the incident, their trial process, partial report of the investigation committee, investigative reports of local and foreign newspapers and media, and Lieutenant General (retd) Md Mainul Islam's last statement 48 hours after the Pilkhana carnage clearly prove that 57 smart army officers and many of their family members were brutally killed in the name of the BDR mutiny in cold blood under the patronage of the Awami League government. And behind them were this government's foreign lords," he said.

Mentioning former DG of BGB DG Lieutenant General (retd) Md Mainul Islam's interview regarding the Pilkhana carnage, he said, "Hasan Mahmud may not confess, but what happened in Pilkhana that day, who did it, why it happened, who was behind the incident, who tried to cover it up? These truths were published in the media even on Tuesday.

"Has the foreign minister lost his mind after seeing the former BGB DG's interview with the media on Monday? The former DG's statement reflected what the people saw and believed that day," Rizvi said.

He further said, "When the former DG's interview was published Tuesday, there was an uproar across the country. He clearly said leaders of a political party were involved in the incident and they chanted the Joy Bangla slogan outside during the incident. Besides, what he said about foreign provocation, the people believed it from the day of the incident.

"The former DG said in the interview that the AL government did not allow the investigation committee formed over the BDR mutiny to work freely. We want to say that the mystery of the Pilkhana tragedy cannot be hidden. One day its real mystery will be revealed and the real culprits will be brought to justice.