Dhaka, Aug 9 (IANS) A B M Abdus Sattar, Private Secretary to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia, has accused several interim government advisors of engaging in rampant corruption, alleging that no key appointments or transfers in the country take place without their involvement.
Sattar made the allegations during a seminar titled ‘Expectations of the July Mass Uprising and Public Administration of the Future’ organised by the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association at Dhaka’s BIAM Auditorium, local media reported.
Without naming them, Sattar claimed to have evidence of “unlimited corruption” involving eight advisors to the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
“I am very disappointed. The character of the bureaucrats has either deteriorated or gone bad. But I can provide evidence of the unlimited corruption of at least eight advisors who sat on the chairs over the blood of the July Movement. The intelligence agency has evidence of the corruption of eight advisors. But no action is being taken against anyone,” Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo quoted Sattar as saying.
“It is a pity that even though Tk 200 crore is found in the account of an advisor’s Assistant Private Secretary, why has no action been taken against him? Can Nurjahan Begum run a ministry like the Ministry of Health? Is it right to run two important ministries like the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Youth and Sports with an inexperienced advisor?” he questioned.
Sattar expressed concerns over the appointment of an “inexperienced individual” to a key position in the ministries of local government and youth and sports. He stated that Chief Advisor of the interim government Muhammad Yunus is aware of what is happening there, but no steps are being taken.
He further commented that corruption has increased compared to the past under the Yunus-led interim government.
Last month, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir stated there were no indications of effective governance or significant reforms, resulting in a concerning increase in extortion cases across the country.
“A businessman who previously had to pay one lakh Taka in extortion now has to pay five lakh Taka. There is no good governance or control anywhere. There has been no change in the police,” Bangladeshi newspaper Samakal quoted the BNP leader as saying.
The BNP and the radical Islamist forces earlier worked hand-in-glove with the student leaders and Yunus to overthrow the democratically-elected government of the Awami League led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The unceremonious exit of Hasina was globally seen as a major setback to the democratic set-up in the country. The interim government has also received massive criticism for providing shelter to radical and extremist Islamic outfits.
–IANS
scor/as