Govt tries to create massive disorder to cling to power: BNP

Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday alleged that the government is trying to create a massive disorder to capitalize on the covert killings in the country, to cling to power, illegally.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir observed this during a news briefing– held at Gulshan– as he came up with the party’s official criticism over the proposed budget, for fiscal 2016-17.
He said that a crisis is now looming on the horizon as people of various faiths are being murdered… and even the wife of a police official got killed in a broad daylight.
Fakhrul said the ministers’ and ‘responsible officials’ statements did not mention any effective measures to unfold the mysteries behind the clandestine killings.
He demanded immediate arrest of the perpetrators and their punishment.
Referring to some newspaper reports he said nearly 48 people were killed in 18 days which ‘prove that such secret killings have been increasing.’
Fakhrul said the government not only failed to control the crimes but also failed to unravel the facts.
He said the government is providing shelters to ‘militancy’ by hiding true motives and not finding out the real culprits.
‘The government is only blaming on the opposition parties for the covert killings,’ the secretary general said.
BNP termed the proposed national budget for 2016-17 fiscal as ‘traditional’ one and ‘non-implementable’.
He also criticised finance minister AMA Muhith for not resigning even after admitting to the parliament on Tuesday that a ‘sea of theft’ took place in the country’s banking and financial sector.
He questioned the capacity of budget implementation and expressed his doubts that the government would not be able to accomplish the revenue target.
Fakhrul said it’s never possible for the incumbent ‘unelected government’ and ‘unelected parliament’ to place people in the middle of welfare in a national budget.
He said the government is not accountable to anyone as there is no genuine opposition in the House to discuss the budget.
He termed the present opposition in the parliament as ‘domesticated opposition’.
BNP secretary general Fakhrul dwelt on increasing tax, VAT, import duties, mobile phone charges, and import of medical equipment, computer and its accessories. He urged the government to withdraw new taxes and VAT.
He stressed the need for bringing high income people into the income tax net because ‘nearly 1.20 crore individuals in Bangladesh earn more than Tk 4.70 lakh annually.’
Fakhrul criticised the finance minister for terming ‘BNP not a political party’ and asked him to withdraw his remarks.
BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Nazrul Islam Khan, party leaders Abdullah Al Noman, Selima Rahman, Chowdhury Kamal Ibn Yusuf and Abdul Awal Mintoo, among others, were present.