BNP leaders slate Hasina's remark

She made the statement on November 10 during her visit to some northern districts.

Protesting this, Shahrin Islam Tuhin, president of Nilphamari BNP and nephew of the Prime Minister, said no one died of starvation in northern districts in recent times.

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"Awami League wants a dead body for its destructive politics and so it is making a false propaganda of death from starvation", he told a press conference at the Circuit House on Sunday.

He said the opposition is trying to create an anarchy in the name of Monga. A section of newspapers is also intentionally publishing 'biased reports' in favour of Awami League. This is not fair, Tuhin said.

There is no denying of the fact that farm labourers did not have any work during the pre-harvest lean period during Bengali months of Aswin and Kartik. To help them tide over the situation, the government has sanctioned 1,25,500 VGF cards and another 54500 cards under rural rationing programme under which rice ism sold at Tk 4 per kilogram. Another 64,000 VGF cardholders are getting 30 kg rice a month. So the poor people suffered least this year, he claimed.

But a section of newspapers do not highlight the government steps, he regretted.

The press conference was also addressed by district BNP secretary Anisul Arefin Chowdhury, joint secretary Mir Selim Faruk aand Sadar upazila BNP president Alamgir Sarkar.