Ruling Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday lauded Bashundhara Group, one of the biggest conglomerates of the country, for coming forward to help the government in tackling the coronavirus outbreak.

“Bashundhara Group has come forward on humanitarian ground and set up a big hospital to provide treatment for corona patients. The move of the group ushers a hope in the time of disaster,” he told a virtual press conference on the contemporary affairs from his official residence in the capital.

Quader, also road transport and bridges minister, thanked the Bashundhara Group for coming forward in tackling coronavirus crisis.

Over the politics of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the AL general secretary said media kept the party alive.

“BNP’s politics is now fully dependent on television and the media have kept the party alive. Without television, their politics would become meaningless to a large extent. Media have kept BNP alive,” he said.

The minister said as the government had given approvals for so many private television channels and the BNP got the opportunity to reveal its existence through these channels.

About BNP’s demand for forming a national taskforce on Covid-19, Quader said, “Coronavirus severely affected many countries around the world. I want to ask a question to BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Do you find any such taskforce of political parties in any of these countries?”

He mentioned that the UK government formed a taskforce to innovate vaccine of coronavirus and the United States formed a medical taskforce, but those were not political ones at all.

The AL general secretary said there is no need to show the government’s Covid-19 preventive activities to BNP as many prestigious magazines like the Forbes and The Economist applauded the bold leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in tackling the coronavirus crisis.

Claiming that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina believes in work, not in propaganda, he said, “If the government commits any mistake, please give us advice to correct it. The premier always welcomes logical advice.”

Quader urged BNP to play a responsible role in tackling the ongoing coronavirus crisis, getting out of the circle of negative politics.

On behalf of Awami League, Quader greeted the Buddhist community on their biggest religious festival Buddha Purnima, celebrating the birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha.