FBCCI comes down heavily on Jamaat
The hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami for Thursday – fourth in a row- has evoked strong resentment among people of all spheres of life across the country.
Jamaat-e-Islami has called another daylong countrywide shutdown for Thursday protesting the death penalty awarded to its secretary general Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid for committing crimes against humanity during the liberation war in 1971. The hartal announcement came on Wednesday through a press release signed by the party’s acting secretary general Rafiqul Islam Khan soon after pronouncement of the verdict against their leader by the International Crimes Tribunal-2.
Being fed up with this unending burst of hartals, people are pondering on the justification of such back-to-back call of hartals during the holy month of the Ramzan when Muslims are engaged in fasting and have less hours to complete their daily routine compared to the rest of the year. In the name of enforcing hartal Jamaat activists have unleashed a reign of terror across the country causing death of nine people and leaving scores injured.
On the other hand, the business community and the low income group people who have to bear the brunt of the hartal came down heavily on Jamaat leadership for this, what they called, ‘irresponsible act’ ahead of the Eid ul Fitr, the largest religious festival of country.
Protesting the hartal call, FBCCI , the apex body of the country’s business community said, it seems that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islam are calling hartals during the holy month of Ramzan as if hartals were a festival, which is not acceptable to the common people.
FBCCI said, during Ramzan, hartal brings unbearable sufferings to the people by hindering normal movement of vehicles. These hartals are emitting a negative image of the country globally and our buyers are becoming upset at a moment when the RMG exporters are passing a crucial time after the incidents of Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fasions, BGMEA president Atiqul Islam told The Independent.
However, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said these hartals by Jamaat have caused a sudden rise in the prices of commodities by hampering supply to the market.
With the shortened work hours in offices during Ramzan, hartal is adding up a huge pressure to the functioning of financial and business institutions, DCCI said.
-Wwith The Independent input
