Interim govt cannot decide on port, LDC issues: Tarique Rahman

BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman believes that an unelected interim government has no authority to make decisions on matters such as port operations or Bangladesh’s graduation from the LDC category.

Tarique Rahman said, “A government that the people have not elected cannot determine the long-term future of the country.”

He made the remarks on Monday, November 24, in a Facebook post amid discussions and criticism over the plan to hand over operation of the Laldia Container Terminal at Chattogram Port and the Pangaon River Terminal in Dhaka to foreign companies.

Alongside the agreements concerning the two terminals, the interim government has also decided that Bangladesh will graduate from the list of Least Developed Countries, LDC, in 2026.

Tarique Rahman said these decisions will have long-term impacts on the people of the country. Yet such a government, lacking a democratic mandate, is making decisions on strategic matters.

On his verified Facebook page, he issued a lengthy post in English reacting to the two issues.