The Communist Party of Bangladesh, the Socialist Party of Bangladesh and Democratic Left Alliance will enforce nationwide eight-hour hartal from 6:00am to 2:00pm today in protest against recent power price hike.
The left parties on Wednesday called on people to observe the hartal peacefully ignoring any provocation.
The hartal was also called in demand of government initiative to reduce the price of essential items, according to a press release of the parties.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, meanwhile, extended ‘full support’ to the strike called by left leaning political parties for today protesting at the latest increase in power tariff that comes into effect from December 1.
BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Wednesday announced the party’s support to the shutdown from a human chain terming the general strike ‘logical’ for the interest of people.
Shawdhinata Forum organised the human chain in front of the National Press Club to protest against ‘harassing’ of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia by setting dates of her appearance before court each week in ‘false cases’.
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission on November 23 once again increased the prices of electricity by 5.3 per cent on an average at consumer level with effect from December 1.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh, the Socialist Party of Bangladesh and Democratic Left Alliance on the same day protested at the decision and threatened to impose hartal across the country on November 30 demanding the commission to scrap its fresh order of increasing the power tariff.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal faction president ASM Abdur Rob and Nagarik Okiya convenor Mahmudur Rahman Manna on Tuesday extended support to the left parties’ hartal.
Bangladesh Nationalist Awami Party through a press release issued on Wednesday also extended its support to Thursday’s hartal, alleging that the government forcibly increased the power price ignoring all arguments against such decision.
Source: New Age.
