Rizvi questions sabotage behind energy crisis

BNP acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has questioned whether sabotage or a deliberate plot is behind Bangladesh’s ongoing energy crisis, while alleging intelligence and law enforcement failures over a recent procession by the banned Awami League. 

He made the remarks at a discussion titled “Current Political Situation and the Way Forward”, organised by the 12-party alliance at the National Press Club on Saturday.

On the energy crisis, Rizvi, also the prime minister's political adviser, said the opposition had the right to criticise the government, speak inside and outside parliament and announce political programmes, but people did not respond positively to excessive agitation over issues unrelated to reality.

Bangladesh is facing shortages of gas, fuel and electricity, he said, but it would be unfair to blame the government, which had been in office for only six months. He attributed the crisis largely to the war in the Middle East.

Rizvi said 140 to 150 oil-carrying vessels normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping had been disrupted by concerns over mines and possible air strikes. The disruption was affecting Bangladesh’s fuel supplies, while the country also relied on imported gas and LNG for electricity generation.

However, he questioned a series of technical failures amid the crisis.

“Now I feel there may be something behind these incidents. Is there a mystery? Is there sabotage somewhere?” Rizvi said.

He said an LNG terminal at Maheshkhali was out of operation due to a technical problem, while electricity supplies from Adani Power’s plant in Jharkhand had also been disrupted after a unit developed a problem.

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Rizvi said the government was paying power plants’ outstanding dues in instalments and meeting its electricity-related obligations to India. He questioned why problems were occurring one after another despite such payments and whether there was an attempt to disrupt or divert attention from welfare programmes such as the Family Card, Farmer Card and old-age allowance.

On the recent procession by the Awami League, whose activities are banned across the country, Rizvi questioned the roles of law enforcement agencies and intelligence services.

He said the banned party had recently attempted to hold a public procession and questioned how so many people had gathered without the intelligence agencies knowing about it. He called for an investigation into what the police administration had been doing at the time.