Independent lawmaker Rumin Farhana told parliament on Thursday that 62,000 people had lost their jobs within six months of the BNP government taking office. Speaking under Rule 71, she questioned the government’s election pledge to create 10 million new jobs, saying more than 900 factories had closed amid energy shortages and rising fuel costs.

Farhana said people faced unreliable gas and electricity supplies, describing public complaints that services come and go without people knowing how long they will last. She said the government had listed improving law and order, controlling commodity prices and ensuring the energy sector among three priorities for its first 180 days.

She also criticised the law-and-order situation and said the home minister either mocked concerns or used rhetoric to obscure the issue. On prices, she said no vegetables were available below 80 taka, egg prices had risen several times, and rice prices, particularly miniket rice, had doubled. She referred to people standing in lines for TCB goods and questioned how long existing workers could retain their jobs.