Nahid demands withdrawal of fuel price hike

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener and Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam demanded immediate withdrawal of the government’s fuel price hike, questioning why the burden of the crisis was being passed on to the public while Tk 44,000 crore has been allocated this fiscal year to implement the new Pay Scale.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Nahid claimed that the government expected to save around Tk 10,000 crore annually through the fuel price hike, while the new pay scale would require an additional Tk 44,000 crore.

He argued that the country’s 180 million people were once again being made to bear the cost of what he described as government inefficiency and mismanagement. Instead of imposing a fresh burden on citizens, he called for restructuring state expenditure and pursuing alternative measures to address the crisis.

The latest adjustment, which raised diesel, kerosene, petrol and octane prices by Tk 20 a litre, is the third fuel price increase since the BNP led government assumed office. The new rates are Tk 135 for diesel, Tk 155 for kerosene, Tk 160 for petrol and Tk 165 for octane.

Nahid questioned the government’s justification that the Middle East conflict, higher international fuel prices and increased freight costs had pushed up import expenses and caused substantial losses for Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). He asked why the government had not temporarily reduced taxes and duties on fuel imports, which he claimed account for up to 32 per cent of the import cost.