Bangladesh’s fuel prices are still considerably lower compared with those in many other countries, BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said.

He made the remarks at a press conference held after a joint meeting with leaders of the party’s affiliated organisations at the BNP central office in Nayapaltan, Dhaka, on Monday (September 21).

Rizvi said the war in the Middle East has created instability in the global fuel market. Despite the situation, the government is continuing to provide subsidies on fuel, while it is still incurring substantial losses even after making some adjustments to fuel prices.

He said the government is spending Tk 250 to purchase each litre of diesel. Even after the price adjustment, the government will incur a loss of around Tk 70 per litre, he claimed. He also said the government is making its utmost efforts to address the fuel crisis.

Rizvi alleged that attempts are being made to create artificial disorder in the country using the fuel crisis as a pretext. He claimed that there were attempts to carry out planned acts of violence to create instability and alleged that the “ousted authoritarian regime” might be involved.

He further alleged that conspiracies were underway to divert social development and public welfare initiatives from their intended purposes. He said realistic solutions had been expected from the opposition, but the kind of offensive language used against the government and BNP in the name of the long march was unacceptable.

Rizvi also expressed concern over the role of a section of the administration. He alleged that supporters of the previous regime were attempting to carry out sabotage from within the administration and questioned whether anyone had secretly joined hands with the defeated forces.