Staff Correspondent
Shujan opposes dropping of charges against MPs-elect
The authorities must complete the trial of the cases the new members of parliament are facing, instead of withdrawing the charges, to end the practice of impunity, Shushashoner Jannoy Nagorik (Shujan) said yesterday.
“The cases must be settled in the court. We do not want them to be withdrawn,” Shujan Chairman Prof Muzaffer Ahmad said at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.
Around 2,300 cases against politicians and others were withdrawn during the tenure of the last BNP-led alliance government, he noted.
In an analysis of the December 29 parliamentary polls, Shujan said at least 37 percent MPs-elect of the Awami League (AL), 59 percent of the BNP and 37 percent of the Jatiya Party (JP) currently face various charges.
Shujan presented the analysis prepared on the basis of information that poll candidates had submitted to the Election Commission (EC) through affidavits.
According to the analysis, 24 of at least 54 candidates accused of corruption have been elected in the just-concluded polls, and of them 17 belong to the AL, six to the BNP and one to the JP.
“In this election we have observed once again that victory of a party or an alliance reflects people’s protest against the previous party in power. The trend is gradually increasing,” Prof Muzaffer said.
Shujan Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder said most of the MPs-elect appear to be cleaner this time, but more enquiries about their backgrounds may give a different picture. There are a lot of inconsistencies in the information they provided the EC, he added.
“There is the big question if we want to see MPs accused of serious allegations in the cabinet,” Dr Badiul said and suggested that the status of those who concealed information about their wealth should be cancelled.
He said 44 percent of the newly elected MPs have at least 10 million taka and this percentage would have been more if all the candidates had provided accurate information about their properties. “Such a big number of millionaire MPs may turn the parliament into a club of millionaires,” he said.
Presenting the analysis, Dr Badiul said bad image of the former BNP lawmakers is a major reason for the defeat of the party in this election. A total of 129 leaders of the party contested the polls from 137 seats but only 14 of them won, he added.
Of the 163 first-time MPs-elect, 132 are from the AL, 13 from the BNP, 14 from the JP, two from Jamaat-e-Islami and two others are independent. Only 42 former AL MPs contested in 43 constituencies this time, he noted.
About the landslide victory of the AL-led grand alliance, former caretaker government adviser Sultana Kamal said such victory gives the scope for an “all taken for granted” mentality, which must be checked. “The media and the civil society have to play a critical role in this regard,” she said.
Another former adviser, ASM Shahjahan, said, “The new government must prove the proverb ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ wrong.”
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
