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BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir stated that a businessman told him, “We used to pay a bribe of 1 lakh taka earlier; now we have to pay 5 lakh taka.” He made these remarks during a book launch and discussion event for *Economy, Governance, and Power: A Portrait of Lived Experience* by Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, held on Saturday at the CIRDAP Auditorium in Dhaka.
The event was chaired by Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, with Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed attending as the chief guest. Indirectly referring to the government, Mirza Fakhrul said, “I don’t know how they will perceive this or if they’ll take it otherwise. The police have not changed at all. In fact, they are taking more advantage now. Sometimes they say, ‘Go to the military,’ and other times, ‘Go to court.’ This is how the police are trying to evade responsibility. They lack confidence because they were involved in all the misdeeds of the previous government.”
On the issue of reforms, Mirza Fakhrul emphasized, “We cannot change everything overnight. But that doesn’t mean we should abandon democratic practices for the long term while claiming to fix things. Can anything be achieved by imposing it? A process is needed. Democracy must be allowed to function through its process.”
