UNB, Dhaka :
BNP on Tuesday alleged that the current Cabinet has become a ‘safe haven’ for convicts as three ministers punished by the court are still there in it.
Speaking at a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also accused the government of playing double standard as opposition-backed elected representatives are being arrested and removed from their offices in ‘false cases’ on one hand and ruling party men and ministers are left untouched even after being convicted by courts on the other. Rizvi said, a special judge’s court in Dhaka on February 14, 2008 convicted Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, jailed him for 13 years and fined him Tk 5 crore in a graft case.
After his conviction, he said the Attorney General and other legal experts said Maya cannot be there in the Cabinet anymore. Besides, the BNP leader said, the Supreme Court convicted Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq and fined them Tk 50,000 each for committing contempt of court by making contemptuous comments about Chief Justice
Surendra Kumar Sinha. “They’ve already paid the money fined by the court. But, they’re still ministers. There were supposed to be suspended as per the law. The Cabinet is now controlled by convicts as the government has deliberately allowed them to be there,” Rizvi said. He further said, “The number of ministers punished by courts is growing gradually as the Cabinet has become a safe shelter for convicts.”
The BNP leader said though no action was taken against ruling party convicted leaders, the government has so far suspended 23 BNP-backed mayors, 27 upazila chairmen, 13 upazila vice chairmen and over 200 UP chairmen and members after implicating them in ‘false’ cases.
BNP on Tuesday alleged that the current Cabinet has become a ‘safe haven’ for convicts as three ministers punished by the court are still there in it.
Speaking at a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also accused the government of playing double standard as opposition-backed elected representatives are being arrested and removed from their offices in ‘false cases’ on one hand and ruling party men and ministers are left untouched even after being convicted by courts on the other. Rizvi said, a special judge’s court in Dhaka on February 14, 2008 convicted Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, jailed him for 13 years and fined him Tk 5 crore in a graft case.
After his conviction, he said the Attorney General and other legal experts said Maya cannot be there in the Cabinet anymore. Besides, the BNP leader said, the Supreme Court convicted Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq and fined them Tk 50,000 each for committing contempt of court by making contemptuous comments about Chief Justice
Surendra Kumar Sinha. “They’ve already paid the money fined by the court. But, they’re still ministers. There were supposed to be suspended as per the law. The Cabinet is now controlled by convicts as the government has deliberately allowed them to be there,” Rizvi said. He further said, “The number of ministers punished by courts is growing gradually as the Cabinet has become a safe shelter for convicts.”
The BNP leader said though no action was taken against ruling party convicted leaders, the government has so far suspended 23 BNP-backed mayors, 27 upazila chairmen, 13 upazila vice chairmen and over 200 UP chairmen and members after implicating them in ‘false’ cases.
