Rizvi: Nation will achieve food self-sufficiency, end poverty under PM’s leadership

BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Monday he is optimistic that Bangladesh would achieve food self-sufficiency and eliminate poverty under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Rizvi, who is also political adviser to the prime minister, was addressing a programme at the National Press Club in Dhaka marking the 17th death anniversary of former finance, planning and commerce minister M Saifur Rahman. The event was organised by the M Saifur Rahman Memorial Council.

He pointed to government welfare initiatives including family, farmer and health cards, canal excavation, and social protection programmes as evidence of the administration's focus on public wellbeing.

"The people expect that poverty in Bangladesh will be completely eradicated and the country will become a prosperous nation under the leadership of our Prime Minister Tarique Rahman," he said.

Referring to what he described as 17 years of "politics of plundering," Rizvi said the economy has been drained through looting and embezzlement.

On Saifur Rahman's legacy, he said, "He is the pride of BNP and an asset of this nation, as he introduced Value Added Tax (VAT) that had injected life into the country's overall economy." 

He noted that VAT, introduced in 1991 amid parliamentary debate and criticism, was never suspended or abolished even after the Awami League later came to power.

Rizvi said Saifur Rahman had prevented practices such as money laundering, bank looting and the use of bank funds to cover budget deficits, keeping banks transparent and budgets tax-funded. He added that Saifur Rahman took steps to curb irregularities in the capital market during his tenures as finance minister, from 1991 to 1996 and 2001 to 2006.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Land, M Naser Rahman, presided over the event. National Parliament Whip GK Gouse attended as special guest.