BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has alleged that the owner of Rana Plaza is living in luxury behind bars.
Published : 19 Apr 2014, 08:39 PM
“That boy is having a good life in jail. That’s because he is an Awami League man. But our leaders have languished in jail.”
Rana, owner of the collapsed garment factory building Rana Plaza at Savar, is charged with flouting building construction norms.
“Politicisation and misguided policies of the government have pushed the garments industry to the brink of destruction. We all know about the Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions incidents. Even today, the families of the victims of the Rana Plaza collapse haven’t been properly compensated.”
“Since that incident, the government has collected a lot of donations from the countrymen and from abroad. But the victims have not received that money. Once in a while they give out some money to put up a show before the public,” she said.
She claimed that no new industries had been created during the last Awami League government’s term. “There has been no local or foreign investment. Many garments factories have shut down, some have been taken over by foreigners,” Khaleda said.
“If the foreigners keep buying out our factories, one day our workers will be out of their jobs.”
She alleged that foreigners were taking up jobs in the country but there was no employment for the Bangladeshi people.
“Workers are being deprived of their rights to form trade unions because there is no democracy in the country. They are being fired all the time,” she said.
Khaleda, who has served twice as the prime minister, blamed the government’s policies for Malaysia and the Middle East not taking any more workers from the country.
“There are countries in the Middle East who don’t even want to give us transit visa now. They don’t trust this illegal government,” she said.