Prothom Alo
BNP member of parliament GM Siraj has termed health minister Zahid Maleque as a super model of corruption.
He appealed to the prime minister to reorganise the health ministry in order to set an example for zero tolerance against corruption.
GM Siraj was speaking in Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) today, Tuesday, during the general discussion on the FY2021-22 budget.
In response to the health minister’s contention that it has become a fashion to accuse the health ministry of corruption, GM Siraj retorted, “Health minister! The nation wants to know what ramp models are Mithu, Afzal, Azad, Razzak, Zaher, Sajjad, Humayun, Mamun, Sattar, Shahed, Malek. The nation knows they are models of corruption and you are the super model of corruption!”
Advising that the health ministry be reorganised, the BNP MP went on to say, “The body stays well if the head is well. Honourable Leader of the House, please show me one instance of zero tolerance against corruption. Create a corruption-free health ministry with technocrats and experts. This service will then be saved. Unused funds will not be returned. The ailing health sector will recover.”
The BNP leader also said almost all the ministries, institutions, beneficiaries of the government have become corrupt. There is no accountability here. The budget will come of no use if corruption is not halted or brought to a tolerable level. The prime minister’s zero tolerance towards corruption has fallen flat on the face due to certain persons of some ministries.
Nasir is a good man: Mujibul Haque
Jatiya Party MP Mujibul Haque has said that the Jatiya Party leader, Nasir U Ahmed, arrested on charges of attempting to rape movie actress Pori Moni, was a ‘good man’. Speaking at the budget discussion in parliament on Tuesday, he said he knew Nasir and that Nasir was a Jatiya Party man. He was a good man, Mujibul Haque said. However, the MP’s microphone was shut off then as his scheduled time was up.
Earlier Mujibul Haque had said, “The finance minister had said to name those who siphoned money off abroad. Are we in charge of the finance ministry that we will give the names? You are the one to find out the names. Ten pages of your budget speech was all about what foreign dignitaries had said. The Washington-based research institution Global Finance Integrity (GFI)’s report states that on average there is a capital flight of around USD7.57 billion dollars (756 crore 73 lakh dollars) from Bangladesh every year. That is around Tk 640 billion (Tk 64,000 crore). You (finance minister) have many organisations. Use those to find them out.”
Mujibul Haque said, during the elections the MPs give a record of their assets. Demanding that civil and military bureaucrats and businessmen submit a record of their assets, he said if the minister looked into this, there would be no shortage of funds for the budget.
“You go to the village today and you will see such beautiful estates and expensive resorts. Where does all the money come from to build these resorts? Let all the bureaucrats and businessmen give an account of the taxes they pay, of their assets,” he said.
Mujibul Haque said these should be published within seven days.
This former state minister went on to say he saw on Facebook that an MP has bought a house in Canada. The MP’s wife was walking around the house. Was this a frame-up or was it true? These things must be found out.
