Flatterers are the Mostaq of current era

August 8 was Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnessa Mujib's 92nd birth anniversary. On this occasion, Awami League and the government held several programs. The main program was organized by the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs. In the Chief Guest's speech, the Prime Minister made several commemorates about Bangabandhu and Bangamata. A commemorate was very relevant and significant. The memoir goes like this: People around tried to mislead Bangabandhu. The people of our country probably have a character. If there is someone in the government, those who are around him, they try to make the overall situation of the country very beautiful. At that time Bangmata was in contact with Awami League leaders and workers from all over the country. So my mother knew what was happening in the country. Mother said to father, the price of rice is increasing. Father went to office and looked into the matter. One in the office said, the rice price ok, it’s not that much. Father came home and said to my mother, “I asked them to inquiry, they said it’s not that much.’ Then mother said to father, they did not give you correct information. I am giving you money, tell the person who said it to buy me 40kg of rice. She really gave the money. But rice is not available at that price. Then my mother said to father that they always try to confuse you. Be careful about this.” The event is significant. There are multifaceted explanations for this phenomenon. First, those around the head of government are misleading. Wants to show that everything is fine. Conceals real information. As a result of this flattery, the head of state and the government suffers. The outcome is zero. Second, it is essential that the person who governs the government has its own source of information. So he gets the true and correct news. Then there is no chance for him to get confused. Thirdly, it is very important to have a selfless person at the head of the government. Thirdly, it is very important to have some selfless person to the head of the government. He or those who will think of his (head of government) welfare and the welfare of the country. Will not seek self-interest in everything.

The head of government knows that those around him also want to make the situation very beautiful. Conceal the truth. The group which flattered and misinformed Bangabandhu in 1975 is still active. Let us consider the current situation of the country. The Minister of State for Power and Energy called the journalists and lamented. He spoke as if the country is a sinking ship and he is the savior. He said, the price of oil in the world market has increased abnormally. For this reason, the price of fuel oil has been increased to a tolerable level. That’s good. I am personally against the subsidy culture. Unbridled subsidy in everything is a major obstacle to the development of a state. If the price of oil increases in the international market, then it is logical to increase the price. But where was the Minister of State for so long? When the prices in the world market were increasing by leaps and bounds. Why didn't he increase the price when it reached 170 dollars per barrel? What was he waiting for at that time? Why did he make this decision when the price of oil is falling now, and it is expected to fall further in the future? To embarrass the government? The speech of the Minister of State for Power is incoherent, random. He said, "If the price of oil had not increased, we would have gone bankrupt." The Minister of State for Power said, 'We are increasing the price because we want to escape from my bankruptcy. My funds are running out.' Really worrying. One of the functions of a government is to understand the situation and plan for the future. The war began in February. Why is the Minister of State lamenting about it in August? That means he failed to grasp the reality of the situation. He failed to perform his duties on time. The state minister says, BPC would have gone bankrupt. But the economic survey of Bangladesh says otherwise. According to the government's calculations, the accumulated profit of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation till last May is 48 thousand crores. BPC is the richest bank customer in the country. So which one is true? While people were discussing on this question, BPC held a press conference on the calculation of money last Wednesday. Looking at the BPC account, I remembered a story of Mulla Nasiruddin. Mulla bought 1 kg of meat from the market and gave it to his wife to cook it. He said, I will come back and eat. In between, the wife's relatives came to visit. Mulla's wife cooked the meat and feed her relatives. When Mulla came back and sat down to eat, he saw no meat. Surprised, Mulla asked his wife where the meat was. Mulla's wife said, the cat has eaten the meat. Mulla Nasruddin caught the cat. He weighed the cat with a stick and the weight of the cat was also 1 kg. Mulla asked his wife if this is meat then where is the cat and if it is a cat then where is the meat. BPC's profit has been used on development. Like Mulla, we also want to ask, where is the profit of BPC and if the money was used in development then where is that development? In fact, not the state minister, but former and current bureaucrats together decided to increase the price of fuel oil. And they made this decision at a time when the price of oil in the world market is decreasing. That means it is being done to discredit the government. The flatterers must have told the head of government that there was no option but to increase the price. Prices have been increased to bearable levels. Who will tell the head of government that everything is on fire as a result of such a huge price increase? In the meantime, the flatterers are not sitting around. People are not suffering; people still walk around wearing clothes; no one is hungry. Some of the ministers themselves have gone crazy while talking about these things.

After winning the 2018 elections, the Prime Minister adopted a zero-tolerance policy against corruption. The Prime Minister rushed to the Ministry of Public Administration. She said, "Salaries have been increased so corruption will not be tolerated." But did the flatterers listen to the Prime Minister? According to Swiss Bank's report last June, Tk 3 thousand crores were smuggled from Bangladesh in one year. The amount of money of Bangladeshis in Swiss bank is more than Tk 8 thousand crore. Swiss Ambassador to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard said on Wednesday, "Bangladesh did not ask for the information of any specific person regarding the money deposited in the Swiss bank." I was a little surprised by the statement of the Swiss ambassador. There is a volatility going on in the dollar crisis. The price of dollar in the open market is Tk 120. The finance minister has announced a 'general amnesty' to repatriate the smuggled money. A speech of Foreign Minister Dr. Abdul Momen a year ago cleared my thoughts. He said, "Bureaucrats have more houses and assets abroad. We thought that only politicians had houses in Canada, the United States. But we found that bureaucrats are the majority here." That's why there is no initiative to recover the smuggled money. And now there is a special discount to bring that money back. Big arrangements to honor the money launderers. Chanakya's Arthashastra is about 2 thousand years old. Even two years ago, the words of bureaucrats appeared in Chanakya's writings. Chanakya wrote, 'If there is poison or honey on the tip of the tongue, it is impossible not to lick it, just as it is impossible to deal with government funds and not taste even one bit of the government's wealth. Just as it is impossible to know when a fish drinks water, it is impossible to determine when the responsible public servants embezzle funds. 'Chanakya wrote, 'Government servants become rich in two ways. Either they cheat the government, or they oppress the people.' By defrauding the government, they built wealth in Begumpara, New York, London. Now the people are being oppressed by increasing the price of fuel oil, increasing the price of goods without restraint, and encouraging arbitrariness in housing. I am sure there is no one to tell the Prime Minister that the people are in dire straits due to the rise in fuel prices. There is not a Bangamata who will tell the Prime Minister that the people of the country are in trouble, there is fire in the rice market, anarchy in public transport and the middle class are disoriented. There is no one who will say, 1hour load shedding is now 6 hours. Who will say, they are not giving you the correct information. They are actually flattering. They try to make everything look good and withhold information.

Bangladesh has asked the IMF for a $4.5 billion loan. Bangladesh can ask for a loan. It is not like Bangladesh has never asked for a loan before. But this time there is a little more fuss about the loan. What is the reason? "People around". The former governor of Bangladesh Bank showed the foreign exchange reserves of Bangladesh is over 40 billion. Now it is slightly below 40 billion. It is normal for the reserve to be more or less. But the IMF delegation came and said that there is a discrepancy in the reserve. It is like the cow is in the book but not in the cowshed. The former governor was a bureaucrat. He knew well how to cover up a crisis with information. The current governor is also a bureaucrat. He came and said, 'The economy is in crisis. We are trying to get through.' The government will deal with the economic crisis. Bangladesh Bank will fix the banking management. Will stop defaulting loans. Prevent money laundering. I do not understand when the governor of Bangladesh Bank got the responsibility of finance minister. A group of bureaucrats say everything is fine. The other party says there is crisis. Both are flattery. Both are embarrassing the government. After the visit of the IMF, bureaucrats and flatterers are restless. IMF, World Bank, ADB, JICA are all now being approached for loans. So how much is our reserve? The confusion has spread to such an extent that no information about the reserve is credible anymore. At least not to people. The mutual trust of the people of Bangladesh is already low. In the 1980s, Professor Razia Akhtar Banu showed in a study that the mutual trust of the people of Bangladesh is very low. In his study, only 4.5 percent of the population in rural areas trust each other. In urban areas, the mutual trust rate is 2.5 percent. Only two leaders were able to gain the trust of the people of Bangladesh. People around Bangabandhu tried to isolate him from the people. They used to hide the truth and give false information. Which came out in the speech of the Prime Minister on August 8. Now the same group is trying to mislead the Prime Minister as well. Trying to disconnect the Prime Minister from the people. Those who flattered and concealed information at that time were the killers of 1975, Mostaq and his accomplices. Now those who are hiding the truth by flattering, not giving the real information to the head of government, artificially trying to make everything look normal, are the new Mostaqs. What is the point of saying everything is all right, our economy is great? And if everything is so great then why asking for an IMF loan? The two are contradictory. IMF is the moneylender of this era. In this regard, I cannot but mention some parts of Dr. Akbar Ali Khan's article "Economics of Mulla Nasruddin". Dr Akbar Ali Khan wrote, 'When Mulla died seven hundred years ago, no one imagined the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. Even in the city of Washington, where the headquarters of both companies are located, there was no city. It is doubtful whether there was any settlement at all. But Mulla has not seen the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund but has seen many moneylenders. It is possible to understand the rules of these two institutions only if you know the behavior of moneylenders. I remember a story of Mulla in this context. It is said that Mulla Nasruddin was very fond of elephant. So, he went to the moneylender to collect the money to buy the elephant. Mulla said to the moneylender, lend me some money. The moneylender said, why? Mulla replied, I want to buy an elephant. Moneylender asked, if you don't have money, how can you raise elephants? Mulla regretfully said, "I came to you for money, not for advice."

Ask the finance minister of any developing country and you will hear Mulla's regret. A few days ago, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund went to Moscow to discuss with the Russian Prime Minister. After the discussion, reporters asked Prime Minister Primakov of Russia for his response. Primakov told reporters that he expected the Managing Director of the Monetary Fund to come with briefcase filled with dollars; But in fact he brought his briefcase full of condition papers. IMF loan conditions are the worst nightmare of finance ministers of least developed countries.' (Source: Economics of altruism; Akbar Ali Khan; page-40)

It is a perennial hobby of bureaucrats to approach the IMF, the World Bank. As a result, political authority is reduced. Ministers can be made puppets. It is a bureaucratic machination to control the ruling party by demonizing the IMF in everything. When we are giving the idea of moneylenders, the country's economy is definitely not in normal rhythm. That’s normal. There may be bad times. But it is not a matter of concealment. It is important to tell the truth to the people. As the father of the nation used to speak openly. He used to tell people the truth. In a speech in Rajshahi on May 9, 1972, Bangabandhu said, 'Whatever anyone says, I want to make it clear that I cannot deceive you... I cannot give you anything for three years...' The Prime Minister also in her speech expressed the crisis in the reality of the world. She spoke about the sufferings of the common people. And others are flattering and trying to make the overall situation look good. People should be informed about the real situation. If the country is developed, the cost of living will increase. The luxury of day and night air conditioning with state subsidies need to be stopped. Indiscriminate wastage of state resources gas should be stopped. These truths must be spoken boldly. But there is a terrible trend going on to make everything right with false misleading and contradictory statements. The predecessors of those doing this for flattery tried to mislead Bangabandhu too.

I was talking to a tested leader of Awami League about the incident that the Prime Minister told about Bangabandhu and Bangamata. He said that earlier employees (bureaucrat) had minimum integrity. That is why he did not buy rice with the money given by Bangamata. Do you know what the current employees would have done? I found his words very interesting. So, I asked with great enthusiasm, what? The Awami League leader said with a smile, "The bureaucrats would have bought rice from their own pockets, return some money to Bangamata and say to Bangabandhu, Sir, I have told the price of rice a little higher. In fact, the price of rice is even lower." I was speechless after listening to him. He said, the bureaucrats of that time not only misled Bangabandhu, they also misled Bangamata. Officials and flatterers surrounded Bangamata too in a way that she doesn't get to know the price of rice.

Apart from that, the grassroots of Awami League used to love Bangabandhu, loved the country, loved the people. Now grassroots only loves themselves. The leaders and workers of that time dared to speak about the truth about rice price to Bangamata. Today's hybrids will say 'no man is and never will be without food.' Artery of true is now useless.