Ershad lashes out at govt

Calls for national dialogue

JP Chief HM Ershad urges Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to hold a national dialogue with the political parties to rescue the country from “severe crisis”.

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad yesterday urged the prime minister to hold a national dialogue in parliament with all political parties who do not believe in the “politics of arson”.

He made the call while participating in a discussion in the House on the proposed budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Ershad, also special envoy to the PM, said the dialogue was needed to save the country from a “severe crisis”.

He also criticised the government for its “misrule” and said,” Good governance has not only been called into question but also has been shot.”

He said, “No one is safe in the country today. Thirteen people have become victims of secret killings since March. Is this a sign of good governance?

“Development is impossible without good governance”.

The JP chief also lambasted Finance Minister AMA Muhith for some recent incidents of irregularities in the banking sector.

Ershad said Muhith was also a finance minister during his tenure but “the difference is that banks were not looted then.”

“If he [Muhith] can show us that banks were looted during my tenure, I will quit politics today,” he added.

He demanded a white paper on various incidents of “looting” and financial scams in the sector in recent years.

The former president also asked why the criminals were not being held. “Try them. We are witnessing the culture of impunity,” he said.

Source: The Daily Star

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