BNP blames govt’s inaction for soybean oil shortage

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday alleged the country is facing an ‘artificial’ shortage of soybean oil for lack of market intervention and the government’s lack of accountability.

“Had there been a government accountable to people, it would have intervened in the market and arrested the syndicates involved in market manipulation. But that is not happening, resulting in the soybean oil crisis,” said Rizvi.

He came up with the remarks while talking to reporters at the graveyard of BNP founder and late President Ziaur Rahman in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city.

Rizvi along with leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal paid homage to Zia by placing a wreath at his grave, marking the 43rd founding anniversary of BNP’s labour wing.

The BNP leader said the common and low-income people are struggling to cope with the unbridled price hike in daily essentials, including soybean oil, rice, pulses and flour.

“One of the reasons for this is severe inflation caused by siphoning off money abroad in the name of development. Due to this horrible inflation, the income of the low-income people and the workers has not increased at all,” he observed.

Rizvi said many people are going to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr with great difficulty as they are already hit hard by the soaring prices of essential commodities.

Rizvi said their party has been carrying out various programmes in protest against the growing price hike in essential items.

He alleged that many homebound passengers, mainly workers, went through sufferings on their way to homes in different districts from the capital on the occasion of Eid.