Independent MP Rumeen Farhana has criticized the government in parliament over the energy crisis and load-shedding. She said: “On gas and electricity — as the saying goes, bad people say it, good people don’t — it comes a little, it goes a little. It’s here, then it’s gone. They don’t seem to know how long it stays.”
She made the remarks in a speech under Rule 71 in the National Parliament on Thursday.
On the energy crisis, Rumeen Farhana said that at a time when oil prices are rising, when there is a scramble for electricity, and when gas is unavailable, the government that had promised during the election to create 10 million new jobs has instead seen 62,000 people lose their jobs within six months of taking office. More than 900 factories have shut down, she said. She questioned whether new jobs would be created at all, adding that only God knows how long those still employed will keep their jobs.
She said that among the current government’s three priorities for its first 180 days are improving law and order, controlling commodity prices, and ensuring stability in the energy sector. On law and order, she said, it becomes difficult to discuss because the home minister either responds with sarcasm or tries to obscure the issue with rhetorical skill. But speaking with ordinary people, she said, just as Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has three ministers, it would not hurt to have 64 home ministers for law and order — one for each of the 64 districts — given how good the law-and-order situation supposedly is.
On market conditions, she said no vegetable is currently available for under 80 taka. Egg prices have risen several times, and rice prices have also increased. She specifically highlighted public hardship over the price of miniket rice. The MP also pointed to the long lines of people waiting for TCB products.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report