Foreign Affairs State Minister Shama Obaed today questioned how opposition parties are organising a long march with thousands of vehicles while claiming the country is facing fuel and gas shortages.

“You are holding a long march with 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles. Do these vehicles run on water or oil?” she said today at a BNP founding anniversary programme in Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur.

She added, “Instead of holding a long march, I urge the opposition to come to parliament and raise their demands.”

The state minister then said that if the July Charter is to be implemented, it will be done under the leadership of the BNP government.

She accused the Sheikh Hasina-led government of corruption and mismanagement in the energy sector, saying power plants had been built without adequate arrangements for production or sufficient efforts to extract gas reserves.

Shama added that the Yunus-led government had also failed to develop the sector during its one-and-a-half years in office.

“Financial-sector irregularities accumulated over 17 years cannot be eliminated in six months,” she said.

She said democracy had returned but conspiracies and misinformation were continuing, including claims of a fertiliser shortage.

Shama also said the judiciary was now functioning independently and that offenders of the previous government should be tried based on evidence, while people should not be prosecuted out of political vengeance.