Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta has advised the ministers to desist from saying anything embarrassing.
His advice followed information minister Hasanul Haq Inu’s remark in the Parliament that Khaleda Zia would not get the chance to participate in the next election.
In Monday’s Parliament, the ruling party’s advisory council member and former minister said, “Honourable ministers, whichever party you belong to, when you say something in Parliament as ministers, the prime minister, too, has to bear the responsibility of those words.”
He said, “Keep this in mind so that we are not embarrassed.” On Saturday, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSaD) President Inu said the BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will not get the chance to take part in the next general election.
In a sharp reaction, the BNP said there was reason to doubt if the ministers were writing the verdicts of the courts. Khaleda Zia, who boycotted the 2014 national election, is facing several graft charges.
The BNP has been alleging that there is a plot to keep Khaleda Zia out of the next election by tying her down in cases. Sengupta said, “The government believes in the rule of the Constitution. “Zia Charitable Trust, 21 August issues will be tried. The judiciary is independent; the trial will take its course.”
JaSaD is an affiliate of the Awami League-led Grand Alliance government. Referring to JaSaD President Inu’s remarks, the former minister said, “In the people’s republic, the Parliament will not decide who can compete in elections and who can’t.” He said the courts, the election commission and the Constitution were there to decide such issues. “Our prime minister has been working day and night, putting her life at stake, only because she believes in democracy,” he said. “Our key promise is democracy. We won’t say anything beyond that.”
Parliamentarian Sengupta also asked the government to recover unpaid loans. He proposed the formation of a banking commission to instil discipline in the sector.
