BNP is now doing politics over IMF loan: Quader

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday said as BNP's political bankruptcy has reached such a low point, the party is now doing politics over the loan of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"A few days ago, they (BNP leaders) conspired and presented false and fabricated information on the Bangladesh economy to the IMF asking it not disburse loan (to Bangladesh). Again when the IMF is going to provide loans, they are now making misleading remarks," he said in a statement.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made unrealistic comments on the IMF loan raising questions intentionally.

"In fact, the reason behind their irritation is that why the IMF is giving loans to Bangladesh. Did Mirza Fakhrul forget? During the BNP era, the national economy was run on the basis of foreign aid and loans," he said.

The AL general secretary said during the BNP's reign from 2001 to 2006, the BNP ran the country taking an average loan of 28 per cent of national income, while the foreign exchange reserve was less than 3.5 billion.

The last budget of the BNP-Jamaat government was only 69,740 crores, he added.

On the other hand, he said, due to the continuous economic progress over the last 12 years achieved under the skilled leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, dependency on foreign loans has decreased to a large extent despite the implementation of many mega projects.

Reserves hit an all-time high of US$ 48 billion and GDP growth reached 8.2 per cent, Quader said.

He said the current budget of the AL government has increased almost 10 times compared to the last budget of the BNP, but the BNP leaders are now talking about the IMF loan and foreign reserve shamelessly.

"In fact, the BNP leaders continue ill-efforts to create panic among people capitalising on the ongoing global crisis. It will be easier to deal with this crisis if you (countrymen) remain alert and proactive rather than getting panicked."

"Under the leadership of Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, timely steps are being taken and implemented to deal with this crisis," Quader said.

Even amid the ongoing global crisis, he said, the World Bank and the IMF have forecasted optimistic notions about the economy of Bangladesh.

Quader said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) clearly stated that Bangladesh would not be like Sri Lanka, while the IMF agreed to provide the loan to Bangladesh as it has the capacity to repay the debt.

Through it, the economic capacity of Bangladesh has been proved once again, he said, adding that there was no such economic capacity during the BNP regime.

Under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's economic transition has been overcome from that crisis of dependency and the IMF loan will be considered as assistance to deal with the ongoing crisis rather than a burden on the people, Quader said.

"Let us all work together under the leadership of Bangabandhu's daughter and people's leader Sheikh Hasina to deal with this unexpected global crisis. Responding to her call, we can ensure active contribution to increasing domestic production," he said.