‘Do these 3,000 vehicles run on water or oil?’ Shama Obaed challenges opposition

“Do these vehicles run on water or oil?” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed asked opposition parties as she challenged their decision to organize a long march with 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles while claiming the country faces fuel and gas shortages.

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You are holding a long march with 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles. Do these vehicles run on water or oil?

Speaking at a BNP founding anniversary program in Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur, Obaed urged the opposition to take its demands to parliament instead. “Instead of holding a long march, I urge the opposition to come to parliament and raise their demands,” she said.

She said the July Charter would be implemented under BNP leadership if it is implemented. Obaed accused the Sheikh Hasina-led government of corruption and mismanagement in the energy sector, saying power plants had been built without adequate fuel supplies and that efforts to extract gas reserves had been insufficient. She also criticized the Yunus-led government for failing to develop the sector during its one-and-a-half years in office.

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Instead of holding a long march, I urge the opposition to come to parliament and raise their demands.

“Financial-sector irregularities accumulated over 17 years cannot be eliminated in six months,” she said. At another event in a Dhaka hotel, Obaed said the government was developing one-stop and digital services to simplify investment procedures. She also said officials were building a consolidated database through the “One Citizen One Card” and Probashi Card initiatives.

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Financial-sector irregularities accumulated over 17 years cannot be eliminated in six months.