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administrative work, such a government has neither the authority nor the justification to undertake policy-making decisions,” said a statement issued by the committee.

“Ignoring all logic, information and national interest, the government’s initiative to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal at Chattogram Port on a long-term basis and to enter into a trade agreement with Japan without proper consultation is highly questionable due to its lack of transparency, secrecy and undue haste,” the statement read.

The platform urged the government to immediately stop what it described as anti-people activities, including signing controversial agreements and making wasteful financial allocations.

It said such hurried efforts to sign long-term agreements at the very last moment before the election, while ignoring the opinions of political parties and the public, strongly resemble the arbitrary actions of the previous authoritarian government.

The GOC said various steps taken by the interim government in the interest of domestic and foreign groups are pushing the country’s economy toward greater risk.

“Amid massive shortfalls in government revenue and a sharp rise in operating expenditures, a proposal has been made to increase the salaries of government employees by 142 percent. Moreover, under an initiative to develop a luxury apartment project for ministers of the next government, a project costing Tk 786 crore is being undertaken to construct 72 luxury flats in the Ministers’ Area in Dhaka,” the statement said.

“Instead of increasing allocations for employment, food security and social safety nets, budgetary allocations are being increased for government operations and administrative expenses. The wasteful high-expenditure allocations of this government, along with its suspicious efforts to sign internationally harmful agreements, will put even the next elected government in danger,” it added.

Economist Prof Anu Muhammad, Dr Moshahida Sultana, Dr Samina Luthfa, Nazmus Sakib, Dilip Ray, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Ferdous Ara Rumi, Sajib Tanvir, Abdullah Mahfuz Ovi, Akram Khan, Sima Dutta, Afzal Hossain and Farhana Sharmin Emu were among the signatories to the statement.