The black flag march of BNP is a deep conspiracy on the inaugural day of the 12th parliament, said Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader.
"Programmes like this called by BNP are anti-people. I consider the black flag programme a deep conspiracy," Quader said during a briefing at the AL Presidents office in Dhanmondi on Tuesday.
In response to a query regarding the Transparency International (TI) report released on Tuesday, Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, said the government does not pay heed to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)2023, announced by TI where Bangladesh ranked 149th out of 180 countries.
"This type of agency (TI) has some political interest and it is a guard to protect the interest of any alliance or some countries in such a situation where conflict of power is prevailing worldwide," he added. He said the TI announces such index to protect someones interest and the agency did it in the past too. Claiming that the government is working to protect the interest of the people of the country, he said, "Corruption is the way of life across the world now and it is not a matter of Bangladesh only."
"Corruption - more or less - is found around the world but the way Bangladesh is being blamed is not true at all," he added.
Warning BNP for its anti-people activities, Quader said, "Why should BNP hold a black flag march? We are not responsible for their failure. Such activities are anti-people and should be withdrawn. The law enforcement agencies will take action if violence is committed in the name of such a programme."
Describing the inaugural day of the 12th Parliament as a historic and auspicious day, Quader said, "Elected representatives of the people will join the parliament today. The 12th Parliamentary Election took place despite various domestic and international conspiracies.
"It cannot be said that this election was not competitive. There was voter presence and participation of political parties. If BNP had participated, perhaps the election would have been more competitive. But the government cannot be blamed," he said while expressing gratitude to the people of Bangladesh. "There is no flawless democracy anywhere. Our democracy will not become flawless overnight. Those congratulating the new government have not called the election flawed," said Quader while talking about the 12th national elections.
The Minister also spoke about current global situations impacting the economy and posing severe challenges to market control and commodity prices.
He expressed hope that the elected representatives will work towards solving the problems people are facing due to this.
