No scope to restore caretaker govt system: Quader

Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Wednesday reiterated that there is no scope of restoring the obsolete caretaker government system in the country.

"There is no scope of restoring the caretaker government system violating the constitution, No matter how much the BNP daydreams of the caretaker government, its dream will never come true," he said while exchanging views with journalists at the Secretariat here this afternoon, reports BSS.

About the next general elections, Quader said all, including the European Union (EU), want fair polls in Bangladesh, but the polls must be held under the Election Commission (EC) following the constitution.

Asked whether BNP would join the next parliamentary polls, he said there is nothing to get worried if they (BNP) participate in polls or not.

The elections will be held as per the constitution, the AL general secretary said, adding that BNP destroyed the caretaker government system and it has no necessity now.

The country's people do not like BNP, he said, adding if the BNP's agitation had any public participation, there would have been a mass movement, though not a mass uprising. But what is happening is a movement of only BNP leaders and activists, he said.

About a news item prepared by a daily newspaper over a school student, Quader said the photo story was made by giving Taka 10 to a child and it was published, which went viral.

"This is yellow journalism. Now yellow journalism is on the rise. Politically motivated and biased news items are being released, which go against the government. This is yellow journalism. Yellow journalism should be prevented," he said.

About the draft of Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2023, the road transport and bridges minister, said the cabinet has approved it in principle but it was not finalised yet.

"It (draft law) will now be vetted by the Ministry of Law. There is no scope to say more before the final approval," he said.

Replying a question over road accidents, Quader said many people die every minute in India, while 20 people died in a recent road accident in Saudi Arabia and among them, nine were Bangladeshis.

It was not fair to say that any ministry is responsible for this road accident, he said.

About the price of essential commodities, the AL general secretary said the prices of goods are going down gradually and will decrease further.

As Bangladesh is developing day by day, many countries of the world are lauding it, he said, adding that this was true that the prices of daily commodities increased but Bangladesh was in a better position than many countries of the world.