Information Adviser Admits Fuel Price Hike Is Grounds to Demand Resignation, Says “But Now Is Not the Time to Demand It”

 Special Correspondent

Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman has said that during the Sheikh Hasina government, people would have demanded the resignation of the head of government due to a decision like increasing fuel prices. However, he believes that since the current government was elected, the government’s resignation should not be demanded in a similar situation.

Zahed Ur Rahman said this in response to questions from journalists at a press briefing organized at the Secretariat on Tuesday on the progress of various government activities.

In response to a journalist’s question about the fuel price hike, Zahed Ur Rahman said, “If he had been an activist instead of being in the government, what role would he have played?”

“If I were an activist and not in this government, I would definitely have protested it. During Hasina’s time, I didn’t just protest, I wanted Hasina’s resignation. Now, it can’t be asked for, it shouldn’t be asked for.”

He also explained why demands for resignation were made during the Sheikh Hasina government during situations like rising commodity prices. Zahed Ur Rahman said, “Whenever there was such a crisis during Hasina’s government, the price of onion would be 300 taka, the price would increase so much, we would say, ‘You go.'”

He said that they did not consider that government as their own. He said, ‘We did not own that government, it was not a legitimate government. So, we wanted you to resign, you go away.’

Regarding the current government, Zahed Ur Rahman said, “This is an elected government and therefore the citizens’ position towards the government should also be different.” He said, “This government is an elected government. I have almost said before, this is our government.”

He said that not everyone may agree with the government’s policies. Many even did not vote for the current government’s symbol. However, he said that they should consider the elected government as their own government because they participated in the electoral process.

Zahed Ur Rahman said, “Many of us may not have voted for this government, this brand, but we were part of this process, in the election, we participated, and we were defeated.”

Mentioning that even if we lose elections in the future, we will accept the elected government in the same way, he said, “If we lose in any future election, we will own that government as well.”

However, the information advisor clarified that this does not mean that the government cannot be criticized. He also mentioned that decisions like increasing fuel prices should be criticized.

He said, “There will be criticism of this, whether it could have been done a little better, whether it could have been done a little less—this criticism will come from everyone’s perspective.”

Also talk about police morale

Zahed Ur Rahman also spoke about the role and morale of the police in the press briefing. He admitted that there is a lack of morale among the police in some areas. However, he said that he does not think that the police are lax in the law and order situation.

He commented that it is not right to consider the way the police have been used in the past as ‘policing’.

Zahed Ur Rahman said, “The police do not have a lax attitude. Rather, I don’t think it is right if we consider the police, policing, in the way the police were once used.”

Referring to the ‘militarization’ of the police, he said that weapons of war have been handed over to the police and incidents of verbal abuse, beatings and shootings have occurred.

Regarding the responsibilities of the police, he said, “The police work with the people of the country. Even if a citizen commits a crime, he is still a member of the country.” This should be kept in mind when determining the role of the police.

In his words, ‘The police deal with the people, the people of the country. Even if I make a mistake or commit a crime, I am a citizen of this country. I am not the army. The army has guns pointed at the enemy country. If the police have guns, they are against the citizens of their own country.’

Calling on the police not to return to their previous form in the future, he said, “I think the police should never return to the form we saw them in.”

Regarding the morale of the police, he said, “In some cases, there is a lack of morale among the police.” He commented that the police must turn around from the incidents that happened in the past and that the public must also stand by the police.