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Mahdi went on to accuse the opposition of obstructing reform and development efforts instead of cooperating.

The BNP government had expected cooperation from the Jamaat-NCP alliance over what he described as positive measures taken in a short span of time.

“But we saw that instead of doing that, they chose another path, including creating chaos in the parliament, threatening movements on the streets and spreading rumours and propaganda -- these are obstacles to the country’s progress.”

People had lost trust in the government and the state system.

“Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has now brought back that trust and confidence among the people of the country. He has brought back a transparent and accountable system -- he is implementing the promises made in the election manifesto, which is a unique achievement.”

Among the measures highlighted at the briefing were direct cash support under the Family Card scheme, the launch of the Farmers’ Card programme, agricultural loan waiver of up to Tk 10,000, and fuel and commodity price controls.

The pilot phase of the Family Card programme has been completed, with 37,567 families receiving the cards so far. Each cardholder’s family is receiving Tk 2,500 a month.

The Farmers’ Card programme, which offers 10 benefits and cash support, had also been launched, initially covering more than 22,000 marginal, small and medium farmers in 10 districts.

Loans of up to Tk 10,000, including interest, for about 12 lakh small and marginal farmers had been waived.

The government also settled 133 ordinances in the first session, said Mahdi, also one of the 10 advisers of the PM.

Of those, 16 ordinances, including the Human Rights Commission Ordinance and Disappearance Prevention and Redress Ordinance, would be reviewed and later placed before the parliament as bills.

The government had taken up a programme to excavate and re-excavate 20,000 kilometres of rivers, canals and water bodies, with work already under way in 54 districts.

Despite the global energy crisis, fuel oil prices had been kept under control, he said, adding that reining in the prices of essentials remained one of the government’s priorities.

The government has set a target of producing 10,000MW of renewable energy by 2030, of which 35 megawatts were added to the national grid through rooftop solar and net metering in the first 60 days.

He also referred to the monthly allowances for religious leaders.

In the health and education sectors, the government had announced plans to recruit 100,000 health workers, with 80 per cent of them being women.

He also mentioned the planned introduction of an e-health card.

The government had decided to scrap re-admission fees, double scholarship amounts, recruit teachers at different levels, including religious teachers and make sports compulsory for students.

There is a plan to fill 468,220 vacant posts in government offices over six months, one year and five years.

The government is working to reopen closed factories, reopen the Malaysian labour market and sign labour-related agreements with seven European countries.

Some 15 million saplings have already been produced as part of a five-year target to plant 25 crore trees.

An initiative has been taken to launch “Expatriate Card”.

The Hajj cost has been reduced by Tk 12,000 per ticket and the Nusuk Hajj Card has been introduced for the first time in the country.

Intelligence and law enforcement agencies are taking swift action against extortion, with maintaining law and order given top priority, alongside initiatives to build a people-friendly police force.

The other initiatives mentioned included the Padma Barrage project, mandatory online applications for mutation and land development tax services and a draft legal amendment to treat river grabbing and river pollution as criminal offences.

Efforts towards the recovery of laundered money are ongoing and long-term plans have been formed to prevent river erosion in coastal areas.

Safeguarding human rights is one of the pledges in BNP’s manifesto and the government’s record over the past two months had met public expectations, Mahdi said.

The prime minister is staying at his Gulshan home instead of the state residence Jamuna, using his own car and paying for fuel, working on Saturdays and enforcing 9:00am attendance. He has also cut airport formalities during state visits.