Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip ASM Feroz has broken all public decorum and political decency asking people at a public reception on Friday at his local constituency to give him no crest or bouquet of flowers; he wanted direct cash from them as gifts. People at the reception arranged by local front organizations of the ruling party Awami League after he became the Chief Whip at the Jatiya Sangsad, were highly bewildered and shocked with the demand of the Awami League MP who has been elected uncontested in the recent voterless election. It was rather a shame on the local people as it showed the greed for money and highly corrupt face of their leader who was demanding cash through the public address system. Not once, he uttered the demand at least thrice asking people to give him cash not the crests who want to bring him gifts. He said he would be at his local party office on the next day from morning to afternoon and whoever wants to give him a gift should rather bring him cash. “I want cash. Cash is what I want,” he emphasized to the surprise of the local leaders and common people making it a talk of the town throughout Saturday. Feroz later said he had actually sought the cash for the party, not for himself. “Don’t you understand, he told party men, a lot of money is required for the election. “Money is useful. What is the use of these crests,” he asked the audience adding politics needs huge cash. It is not clear whether or not people have brought him cash instead of crest. But he told the people through the loudspeaker that he had no time to receive flowers and crest, the useful thing is money that he would like. But as he later came under severe criticism from local party men, he said his remarks were just jokes and nothing serious. To distance further from what he had earlier said, he said, “Do you think I am such a foolish politician that I will seek money in public?” “You, the journalists, should cooperate with good politicians like me. You should show mercy on me. Local cable social network meanwhile reached the news to common people and the cable operators also telecast the function and the call for cash as it quickly picked up the event sending shocks and sensation. Local party leaders said his remarks had shocked them. In fact the entire nation has become shocked by the exposure of the greedy face and corrupt practice of the ruling party lawmaker who is also the Chief Whip of the party lawmakers in parliament. It obviously showed the total bankruptcy of the ruling party leadership which has anything to lure respect from the ordinary people. This is what our leaderships stands for today and the party men had built hundreds of arches over the 15 km road from Patuakhali to his local upazila to give him a rousing reception as a proud son of the soil. But his mind was rather hunting through people’s pocket. He wanted not love and not flowers; he wanted money. It reminds a highly precious saying which reads, “Flowers and kisses are very well but a diamond ring last for ever.” …. he was for cash. What Chief Whip ASM Feroz told the people at the reception is not only the most disgusting breaking of the news. In fact, he has disclosed the life style of the many ruling party leaders and workers who are making life of the common people unbearable by way of extortions, mugging and grabbing of others wealth and business. This is how they are making enormous illegal fortune turning politics to an extortion business. Most of this extortion is going silently by use of force. Feroz has made it unwittingly public. It showed how corrupt our political system has become and how oppressive too. The nation must get rid of it and the class of oppressive leaders who run it at the moment.
