Nagorik Oikya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna on Saturday alleged that the "government-backed syndicate" has raised the prices of daily essentials to make a quick buck, inflicting suffering on people.
"The prices of essentials are going up because of a syndicate-backed by the government. That’s why it’s unable to rein in this syndicate,” he told a human-chain programme.
Manna said, “They (govt) are unable to reduce the prices of essentials. What kind of government is this? People, their lives and assets, and the dignity of women are no longer safe under the current regime.”
The Nagorik Oikya chief said the prices of essentials will not come down and the incidents of crossfire, repression on women and fire in slums will not stop as long as the current government remains in power.
He said there is no alternative to waging a mass movement to overcome the sordid condition of the country and the ‘misrule’ of the government. “Forge a big alliance together with all the democratic parties and take to the streets to oust the government. We must take preparations for that.”
Stating that the government has snatched people’s all the democratic rights, Manna said people must restore their rights through a democratic movement.
“We don’t want any chaos as we just look for getting back our lost rights. They (AL) snatched our victory in this month by hijacking votes. We now take a vow in this month to get our victory back,” he added.
Manna said over 30 people are dying of coronavirus every day while about 2,500 people are getting infected as the winter wave of the deadly virus has begun in the country.
“TIB has recently said the government lied about the Corona situation. Those who have conducted various studies so far, including (icddr,b) said that at least 50 percent of people in Dhaka city have been infected with corona, but the government didn’t give us that information.”
He said the government is only asking people to mask up, but hospitals lack necessary oxygen facilities and there is no step to ensure adequate oxygen plants at the hospitals.Manna voiced worry that people will not get treatment at the hospitals if the corona cases continue to spike in the coming days as the government has no preparation to deal with the worsening situation.
