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| Bangladesh |
| JS gets graft details |
| 2009-07-10 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] A parliamentary body investigating irregularities during the tenure of former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar asked the House yesterday to strip Sircar of his MP status and recover around Tk 2.50 crore he, his deputy and the then chief whip took illegally as medical bills, additional fuel allowances and other facilities. The all-party probe body yesterday submitted its report, the first of its kind in the history of the country's parliament, and recommended taking legal actions against Sircar, the then deputy speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui and the then chief whip Khandaker Delwar Hossain. The report says the three undermined the dignity of the House, indulged in widespread corruption and misuse of power. The probe body has charged them with contempt of parliament for not appearing before the parliamentary committee despite being invited and asked the House to initiate contempt proceedings against them. "It is the inherent power of a parliament to scrap membership of an MP for his/her misconduct no matter whether any specific provision exists or not," the probe report says. The principal aims of this inherent power are to protect the dignity of the House and ensure people's confidence in it so that democratic system can remain effective, it says. Formed on March 19, the probe body formed three sub-committees to conduct enquiry into the alleged widespread corruption in Parliament Secretariat during the last seven years from November 2001 to January 25, 2009 when Speaker Abdul Hamid assumed office. Ruling Awami League lawmaker Fazle Rabbi Mia, chief of the parliamentary probe body, placed the 784-page report in parliament with huge documents on corruption and misuse of power committed by Sircar, Akhtar Hamid and Delwar. The report contains 16 recommendations. The white paper of the alleged corruption points out anomalies in taking medical bills, using unauthorised public vehicles and taking additional fuel allowances, corruption in procurement, beautification and arboriculture, recruitment, entertainment bills, allocation of residence for officials and receiving money from the Parliament Members' Club. Rabbi yesterday told The Daily Star that the House would discuss the findings and recommendations in its next session to decide the next course of actions. The probe committee considers the wrongdoings of the trio as even more serious than the unreasonable expenditures by the MPs of the UK parliament. "Former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar and former deputy speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui took oath to do right to all manner of people according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. But they breached their oath of offices while discharging duties and committed misconduct, thus tarnishing the dignity of the two high offices," the probe report says. Opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque was a member of the probe committee, which was formed in the presence of the BNP-led opposition lawmakers in the House. Farroque, however, has not attended any meeting of the committee without citing any reason. Sircar, Akhtar Hamid and Delwar, who is BNP's incumbent secretary general, have repeatedly refuted the allegations against them and claimed that the probe body was formed illegally to tarnish their political image. |
| Posted by:Fred |