State minister urges against wasting fuel, causing public suffering in the name of long march

State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishrak Hossain has said that instead of wasting fuel and causing public suffering in the name of a long march, the opposition should consider how much they have achieved in the past six months.

He was speaking to journalists after inspecting Khoksa Police Station and receiving a guard of honour, prior to attending a discussion meeting at Khoksa Janipur Pilot High School ground in Kushtia on Saturday, in memory of former Prime Minister the late Khaleda Zia.

The state minister said the long march programme would unnecessarily cause public suffering and waste national resources. "They initially said the long march would be over the energy crisis, yet by holding this long march, calculations show they will burn about 100,000 litres of fuel. Later they said it is for implementing public opinion," he said.

Regarding a second oath, he said those who took it had rendered their first oath invalid according to experts. "We want to bring reforms through constitutional amendments. The opposition has been invited to the Constitution Reform Commission, but they have not participated so far. Instead, they are creating public suffering and wasting fuel at a time of energy crisis," he said.

Earlier, the state minister visited the Khoksa upazila Muktijoddha Complex and exchanged views with local freedom fighters. He later attended the discussion meeting at Khoksa Janipur Pilot High School ground.

At the event, he distributed copies of the Holy Quran among orphans and Hafez, and sports equipment among various unions. He also joined tree plantation programmes and released fish fingerlings into a government water body.