Zunaid Ahmed Palak
Both the assets and annual income of state minister for information and communication technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the Awami League-nominated candidate for Natore-3 (Singra) constituency, has leaped in the past fifteen years.
The moveable and immovable assets of the incumbent lawmaker have increased by 100 times in value since 2008 when he was first elected from the ruling party, while his annual income has seen an increase by 27 times.
The source of this information is a comparison between his affidavits submitted to the Election Commission for 2008, 2014, 2018 and 2023 general elections.
According to the affidavits, in 2008, Palak, vice-president of Natore district Awami League, had assets comprising immovable and moveable properties (except his ancestral home) worth Tk 3.10 lakh with an annual income of Tk 1.18 lakh.
Five years later in 2013, his assets’ worth increased to Tk 66.42 lakh, while his annual income shot to Tk 18 lakh.
The state minister’s assets and annual income both saw quite a leap in 2018 when Palak declared his moveable and immovable assets are worth Tk 2.79 crore although his annual income remained the same—Tk 18 lakh.
Palak, a lawyer by profession, has declared in his latest affidavit to have an annual income of Tk 32 lakh in 2023, while his total assets’ worth is Tk 4.38 crore, of which he has Tk 1.17 crore in cash.
Besides, the assets and annual income of those who are dependent on the state minister have also increased significantly in the last 15 years.
According to the affidavit, the worth of Palak’s wife’s immovable and movable assets has increased to Tk 3.84 crore (except 30 bhari gold) in 2023 from Tk 2.30 lakh in 2008, while the annual income of the dependent has increased to Tk 18.47 lakh from almost zero.
Meanwhile, incumbent lawmaker Shafiul Islam Shimul, the AL-nominated candidate for the Natore-2 (Sadar and Naldanga) constituency, has declared a significant rise in his and his wife’s annual incomes and assets in the past ten years.
In 2013 when he was first elected from the ruling party, Shimul had movable assets worth Tk 32 lakh against an annual income of Tk 5.76 lakh. The affidavits show that the worth of his moveable assets has increased to Tk 4.55 crore in 2023, while he declared an annual income of Tk 53 lakh.
In 2013, Shimul, who mentioned business as his profession in the affidavit, had Tk 11.12 lakh in cash and Tk 7 lakh deposited in banks and financial institutions.
In 2023, he has Tk 1.56 crore in cash and another Tk 33 lakh in banks and financial institutions.
Besides, Shimul declared a significant increase in his wife’s assets and annual income in the past ten years.
According to the affidavit, the worth of his wife’s moveable assets has increased from Tk 10.75 lakh in 2013 to Tk 3.16 crore in 2023 of which she has Tk 1.56 crore in cash. Her annual income has been mentioned Tk 28 lakh in 2023 although he didn’t declare any income of his wife in 2013.
New Age