BNP accuses govt of destroying leather industry

BNP yesterday alleged that the government has destroyed the leather industry, after that of jute, in a planned way to make the country dependent on others. 

“We earn foreign currency through the leather industry as rawhide is collected after every Eid-ul-Azha, but the government has  destroyed it in a planned way. They did so in the past, too,” said BNP  secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Speaking at a doa mahfil, he further said, “The government has made good progress in making Bangladesh a subservient country as part of its far-reaching plot. They [govt] are not only repressing people, but also playing the  biggest role in turning the country into a dependent one.”  

BNP arranged the programme at its Nayapaltan  central office, where party leaders and activists prayed for their incarcerated Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Recalling their party chairperson’s contributions to the  socio-economic development of the country, Fakhrul bemoaned that the  government has kept her in jail deliberately to cripple the country and its economy.

He alleged that the government has destroyed all the democratic  institutions to hang onto power. “The judiciary has been harmed badly and  it has completely lost its independence.”

Branding the government “unelected and fascist”, the BNP  leader said it is now oppressing political and democratic activists by establishing its “control” over the judiciary.

Fakhrul regretted that their party could not free their ailing chairperson through a strong movement yet.

He urged BNP leaders and activists to unite to  have their chairperson released from jail through street agitations. “We have no alternative to intensifying the movement to free her.”

Later, a munajat was offered, seeking the well-being of Khaleda.

BNP standing committee members Moudud Ahmed, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy,  Nazrul Islam Khan, Selima Rahman; vice chairmen Shamsuzzaman Dudu, AZM  Jahid Hossain, Netai Roy Chowdhury, Shawkat Mahmud; and senior joint  secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, among others, were present.

Khaleda has been in jail since her conviction in  Zia Orphanage Trust graft case by a lower court on February 8, 2018.

The  BNP chief was shifted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) on  April 1 for treatment and has been staying there since then.

Her party said she turned 75 on Thursday, though there is controversy over her actual date of birth.