BNP hits back at PM for comments against Zia family

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UNB, Dhaka :
In the wake of Prime Minister’s statement in parliament about siphoning off money abroad by the Zia family and BNP leaders, party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday alleged that Tk 86,000 crore has been laundered alone by persons close to Sheikh Hasina.
Speaking at a discussion, he also said Sheikh Hasina brought a false allegation of siphoning off money by BNP leaders and the Zia
family as a trick to divert people’s attention to a different direction from Rohingya crisis.
“You’re spending Tk 100 for a work worth of Tk one in the name of different projects and mega projects as you’ve been in power by force. Different international organisations have estimated that people close to the Prime Minister have alone siphoned off Tk 86,000 crore abroad from Bangladesh, he said.
The BNP leader said no one is now raising voice against corruption by the ruling party men in fear of reprisal as the country under ‘Awami League misrule’. “Those who collected information about the corruption and money laundering by the ruling party men cannot dare present their findings out of fear. But different foreign media and researchers are observing it closely.” The BNP leader warned that those ruling party men are plundering public money and siphoning off those abroad must be accountable to people someday. Bangladesh Jatiya Nagorik Sangsad arranged the discussion programme at the Jatiya Press Club.
Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told parliament that the government is investigating the alleged money-laundering by the members of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s family, saying that appropriate actions will be taken against them accordingly.
“After investigation, we’ll surely take steps to bring the money back based on the information that where and how it went out from the country,” she said while replying to a supplementary question of Jatiya Party MP Fakhrul Imam during PM’s question-answer session in parliament.
Protesting her comments, Rizvi said, “Rohingyas are dying every day for lack of food, treatment and shelter. The Prime Minister came up with an allegation of laundering Tk 1200 crore (by the Zia family and BNP leaders) to hush up Rohingyas’ horrible situation. She also did it to keep people busy with the issue and divert the attention of people and the international community to a different direction from Rohingya crisis.” He also accused Hasina of patronising corrupt people as she branded former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain as a patriot after an international organisation accused him of indulging in corruption in Padma bridge project. Mentioning that the incidents of killing and enforced disappearance have marked a sharp rise over the last few weeks, he warned all that the government might have an evil plan against BNP and the democratic forces.
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