Anu Muhammad Criticizes Yunus Government for Lack of Accountability

Staff Correspondent

Anu Muhammad, a member of the Democratic Rights Committee and former professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University, criticized the Yunus-led interim government for failing to address inequality and promote national capacity effectively. He labeled the administration’s actions as misdirected and driven by “unacceptable sentiments.”

Speaking at a seminar titled *”Post-Uprising Bangladesh: What Kind of Budget Do We Need?”* at the National Press Club today, Anu Muhammad said, “The government’s primary responsibility is to reduce inequality and implement policies that enhance national capacity. Instead, they are creating complications fueled by personal grievances, which is entirely unacceptable.”

Highlighting the lack of a long-term mandate for the interim government, he argued that while comprehensive reforms might be difficult, positive changes could still be initiated.

On resource management, he stated, “The country has ample resources, and its people are hardworking. Yet, instead of empowering the populace, the government is overly focused on foreign companies.”

Citing inefficiencies in Chattogram Port management, Anu Muhammad criticized decisions to outsource operations to foreign firms instead of strengthening domestic capabilities.

He also questioned the LNG import agreement process, claiming it bypassed local oversight. “When the BIDA chairman finalizes an LNG deal without Petrobangla’s knowledge, it clearly shows a preference for import dependency over national capacity building,” he asserted.

Addressing railway workshop inefficiencies, he added, “Enhancing the workshops would allow the country to produce engines, carriages, and wagons locally, reducing dependency on imports.”

He emphasized increasing budget allocations for research and training, lamenting the weak state of national research initiatives.

Advocating for a fiscal year change, Anu Muhammad suggested aligning it with the Bengali calendar or beginning in January to avoid implementation delays caused by monsoons.

Other speakers at the seminar included Maha Mirza, Kallol Mostafa, Harun Ur Rashid, Mosahida Sultana, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Sajib Tanvir, Marzia Prova, Kaushik Ahmed, and Salman Siddiqui.