The government is increasingly coming under pressure as corruption, swindling of public fund and misuse of power by some cabinet ministers are hogging the headlines to the utter embarrassment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Two of the most talkative and talked about ministers – Mufazzal Hussain Chowdhury Maya and Quamrul Islam – have become embarrassment to the government. Minister Mufazzal Hussain Chowdhury Maya has emerged as a person with proven record of corruption is a sitting cabinet member.
Likewise, Minister Quamrul Islam has come under media scan for allegedly importing rotten wheat from Brazil and feeding the substandard wheat to service men in uniform and the rural poor under test relief.
The Maya episode
There is a growing demand for their resignation and the Prime Minister is reportedly not happy with them. But she is also not asking them to resign apparently apprehending bitter embarrassment to the government and personally to her.
The demand for resignation of the Minister for Disaster Management and Relief and Rehabilitation Maya from cabinet has been snowballing after his parliament membership become void. But he is desperately clinging to his job both as a cabinet minister and as well as lawmaker using legal loopholes and questionable interpretation of the Constitution as advanced by people holding important positions in the administration.
His ordeal started with the Supreme Court ruling saying that his acquittal from the corruption case by a High Court bench was faulty because the judges did not apply judicial mind in hearing of his appeal.
In February 2008, a special court sentenced Maya to 13 years’ jail for illegally amassing wealth worth wealth worth Tk 6.29 crore and concealing assets worth Tk 5.9 crore. The court also fined him Tk 5 crore. In October 2010, the High Court cleared him of the charges. But on June 14 this year, the Supreme Court acting on an appeal by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) scrapped the HC judgment and directed it to hold further hearing and dispose of Maya’s appeal challenging the lower court verdict.
Now Maya’s lawyers are pleading that the order for rehearing of the case by a High Court bench does not mean that the charges against him were already proved and so until the case is heard and reached the finality, Maya is legally permitted to continue as a lawmaker and may also continue in the cabinet. Others say since the lower court verdict holds valid, he can’t continue until the High Court orders otherwise proving his innocence.
Ex-Chief Justice’s rule
They said the interpretation of the relevant section of the Constitution by former Chief Justice Khairul Islam has settled the controversy. It said if the finality proves that a person is innocent, he will be so. Until that time the lower court verdicts will prevail and an MP would cease to be an MP and holding similar positions will also be illegal. He can’t contest any election until he is cleared and if he is already elected it would stand void. What appears quite interesting is that the ACC which prosecuted Maya in 2008 and appealed against the High Court acquittal in 2010 reportedly wanted to recall the appeal when the Supreme Court was about to scrap the acquittal.
Now a member of the ACC last week said in his “personal” view Maya can continue in his post as a lawmaker and also as a cabinet minister until the finality of the High Court hearing. But the ACC prosecutor who was handling Maya’s case in the lower court and also in the High Court said the minister can’t continue in his posts and must vacate as per the law. It means that the minister can’t hold public office because of moral turpitude and the law is clear, besides he is constitutionally obliged to step down.
Because if he continues in office, he may influence the court and other law officers and it requires that he must leave his positions until the High Court ends its hearing and give the final verdict.
Meanwhile, Maya has been served a legal notice last week to explain in 72 hours as to why he should not resign bringing new pressure on him to quit. But he is patiently waiting to see what comes next.
The import of ‘rotten’ wheat
Maya became the centre of discussion when the Narayangonj seven murder case became the talk of the town in which his son-in-law, an army major posted with RAB Narayangonj unit was the number one accused and is now in custody. Maya was allegedly instrumental behind the conspiracy and his relentless lobbying to save his son-in-law had annoyed the top government policy makers then.
Many tend to believe that he has been encouraged by former Planning Minister Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir’s example whose parliament membership was also cancelled by the Supreme Court but he managed to continue as a lawmaker and minister till to the end of term of the last parliament.
The speaker about Alamgir’s case had said it was the responsibility of the Election Commission (EC) to declare his post void but the EC shot back saying the responsibility lies with the Speaker. Similarly the Speaker of the present parliament last week said she has nothing to do until the High Court verdict reached her office. This indecision has enabled Maya to continue in both his posts. In fact he is a valuable asset to the party as an organizer and seemingly the rule of law has no place in our system where the party interest matters.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman last week suggested that the minister must resign, not only showing respect to the law but also to set an example of high morality when people are demanding his resignation. He has also demanded the resignation of Food Minister Quamrul Islam from cabinet for allegedly importing rotten wheat from Brazil. The food minister has distributed the wheat in question in haste to district warehouses and made allocation to service men in police, army and RAB. Lion’s share of this wheat went to running food for work and test relief to feed the poor.
Why buy rotten wheat only?
The Food Minister admitted in parliament that Brazilian wheat was rotten and he would not import the remaining one lakh tones of the two lakh tones on order. But informed sources suggest that the ministry had already paid 90 percent of the total price and that much of the fund for the wheat deal was swindled.
Meanwhile, report said the minister has also bought rotten wheat from France and details are yet to come to the light. Initially a move was at work in connivance with a section of food ministry officials to buy wheat from Ukraine but it was foiled by intervention of another section. Bangladesh embassy in Moscow also intervened. Then the buying of rotten wheat from Brazil became public and now another buying from France, apparently substandard wheat, has come to the knowledge.
Source: Weekly Holiday