Fair price for potatoes now more important than referendum to farmers: Tarique Rahman

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman has said ensuring that potato farmers get fair prices for their produce is more urgent than holding a referendum, criticising political efforts to divert public attention with what he termed "irrelevant" agendas.

Speaking virtually at a discussion marking the National Revolution and Solidarity Day at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre today (12 November), he said potato farmers are struggling to recover their production costs this season.

"This year, farmers are likely to face severe losses. The production and storage cost of potatoes stands at Tk25-27 per kg, but they are unable to sell them even at half that price," he said, adding that growers could incur losses of around Tk3,000 crore this season.

"If a so-called referendum is held to satisfy one party's demand, the state will have to spend a similar amount (Tk3,000 crore). For farmers, getting a fair price for their produce is far more important than a referendum," he said.

The BNP acting chairman also criticised what he described as "attempts to obstruct the upcoming national election through various conditions," alleging that some parties are "trying to exploit the interim government's weaknesses."

Tarique urged democratic and anti-fascist forces to face the people in the upcoming February national election instead of issuing threats to the interim government.

Pointing to other national issues, he said Bangladesh continues to record one of the highest road accident death rates globally, yet "road safety has not found a place in the interim government's discussions."

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir chaired the discussion, where Tarique Rahman attended as the chief guest.