The Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) would consider taking legal protection to get rid of destructive political programmes like hartal and blockade as they take a heavy toll on the economy.
The apex trade body came up with the declaration at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday, after a meeting with its board of directors that focused on current political situation and finding a way out as political stalemate affects business.
“In the past, we didn’t think about legal protection to get rid of political unrest. But given the prevailing circumstances, we’ll be compelled to seek legal protection if law permits,” FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed said.
He said the board of the FBCCI urged him to go for legal protection as it does not want to get affected further.
“Before the January-5 poll last year, we met Awami League and BNP command, but to no avail,” Akram said in reply to a question.
Transportation has fallen in deep crisis as it suffers a loss of around Tk200 crore every day while industrial production witnesses a downward trend due to disruption to supply chain, said Akram.
The ongoing political turmoil not only hurts economic growth, but also hampers movement of common people and destroys valuable time of the students, he added.
He observed that Muslim devotees are also facing trouble attending Bishwa Ijtema in the wake of blockade.
The country requires 8% growth in economy supported by an annual investment of Tk2,800 crore to turn the country into a middle-income group by 2021, but the destructive political activities like blockade and hartals are thwarting the economic prospect.
The apex trade body urged political parties to shun confrontational and violent politics to turn the wheel of economic growth, he adds.
To lessen business losses, the FBBCI called upon the government to waive interest on bank loan as political unrest cuts production and leads to production cost. Kazi Akram stressed the need for a peaceful solution to end the political crises.
The FBCCI first vice-president Monwara Hakim Ali, vice-president M Helal Uddin and its board of directors were present at the briefing.
