Govt is procuring 10 Airbus aircraft to get commission: Fakhrul

 
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday alleged that the government is buying 10 Airbus aircraft from France with the aim of getting a commission. "It's a very nice thing that the President of France has arrived here…he is our big guest. You (govt) welcomed that guest very well with dance and song," he said. Speaking at a programme in front of BNP's Nayapaltan central office, Fakhrul said the people of the country who are struggling to manage food in the dire situation of the country presumed that something good was happening during the French president's tour, UNB reports.

"What has happened?  It's said that 10 Airbus aircraft will be procured. Their (govt's) real goal is to get kickbacks on this Airbus. Do you understand the kickbacks? It means commission," he said. The BNP leader said there is no scope to get a commission by procuring Boeing. "That is why 10 Airbus planes are being purchased."

Fakhrul, also a former state minister for civil aviation, said the government is going to procure the Airbus aircraft though it cannot ensure food for people of the country, treatment for them and build hospitals and provide health services. "They (govt) also can't ensure the people's right to franchise."

He also questioned the justification for buying 10 Airbus planes for Biman Bangladesh Airlines when the state-run organisation has collapsed. "Biman also can't provide any service properly. "They're purchasing the Airbus aircraft for creating scopes for stealing (public money)."They (govt) have probably cut the commission immediately." Later, the BNP Secretary General inaugurated the three-day leaflet distribution programme taken by Dhaka South city unit BNP to create public awareness to control the dengue outbreak. Fakhrul along with party leaders and activists distributed leaflets among pedestrians, and vehicle drivers and passengers.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Dhaka on Sunday evening on a short tour at the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
This was the first visit by any French president to Bangladesh in the last three decades.