Dhaka [Bangladesh]: Shama Obaed, Organising Secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), acknowledged the importance of energy investments, such as those by the Adani Group, to support Bangladesh’s growing power demands and industrial development. While she viewed these initiatives as positive, Obaed emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in energy agreements.
Speaking about Adani Group’s energy sector investments, Obaed told ANI, “Bangladesh, as a growing country, needs clean energy for industrialisation for various purposes, and Adani Group coming ahead and showing interest to invest in energy projects is a positive thing. But at the same time, we have to make sure that any kind of deal that has been done by Adani Group or any other private sector is transparent and all the agreements have to be looked at closely.”
Obaed also raised concerns about past corruption under the Sheikh Hasina regime and urged that future deals prioritize the welfare of the Bangladeshi people.
“Bangladeshi people have to know what’s in the agreement, it is very important because we have seen in the past when any kind of agreement has happened in Sheikh Hasina regime, a huge amount of corruption was involved. We do not want to see that in Bangladesh now and when we talk about new Bangladesh, we talk about transparency, we talk about legitimacy, we talk about accountability. So, we want to have agreements with Adani Group or any other group which are transparent, accountable, and are actually helping Bangladesh rather than helping two or three people who will make money out of it,” she said.
Meanwhile, reports have highlighted broader challenges in Bangladesh’s governance. A 50-page Human Rights Watch report titled “After the Monsoon Revolution: A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh” called for systemic reforms. The report stressed the need for the separation of powers and political neutrality in critical institutions, including the judiciary, civil service, police, and military, to address long-standing issues of political repression.
The political landscape in Bangladesh has undergone significant changes in recent years, further complicated by Sheikh Hasina’s flight to India on August 5 last year, an event that continues to draw international attention.