'Tuku comes, Tuku goes': Rumeen slams govt over electricity, gas crisis

Independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana today (27 August) criticised the government over the gas and power crisis, inflation, rising commodity prices and employment, saying uncertainty over energy supply was hurting households, businesses and industries.

Speaking in parliament, the Brahmanbaria-2 MP took a swipe at Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, saying, "Honourable Speaker, what more can I say about energy? Mischievous people say, while good people don't, 'Tuku comes, Tuku goes'. It comes and goes; apparently, no one knows how long it stays."

She said the quip reflected the wider uncertainty over energy supply, with electricity shortages, inadequate gas and rising fuel prices adding to the hardship faced by households, businesses and industries.

Rumeen said the government had identified law and order, commodity prices and energy security as priorities but had made little progress. Taking a shot at the home minister, she said the minister often uses sarcastic or rhetorical responses to deflect questions on law and order. 

"If you talk to people, you'll find that just as Bangladesh has three foreign ministers, it would not be bad if there were 64 home ministers – one in each district," she said.

She also questioned the government's pledge to create one crore jobs, claiming 62,000 people had lost jobs and more than 900 factories had closed since it took office. "How will new employment be created in such a situation?" she asked, warning that existing jobs were also uncertain.

On prices, she said vegetables now cost at least Tk80, while egg and Miniket rice prices had also risen. Long queues for subsidised TCB products, she said, reflected growing pressure on consumers.

Rumeen urged the government to take effective measures to address the energy crisis, inflation, high prices and employment uncertainty.