JS probe body has no right to summon ex-MPs: Delwar

BNP secretary general Khandker Delwar Hussain has said the parliamentary probe committee has been formed without any legal procedure and it has no right to summon the former members of the parliament (MPs).
“The parliamentary committee has no legal right to summon the former MPs. It is a violation of parliamentary discipline. In fact, the committee’s decision is politically biased and defamatory and is designed to slur the opposition and its leaders. Anyway, I will think about it after receiving the formal letter,” he told journalists emerging from a party meeting at the central office at Naya Paltan yesterday afternoon.
“The person who complained against me is appointed as the chief of the probe committee. He is the complainant, investigator and the judge. So it is clear what the purpose of the committee,” he added.  
“The parliament speaker has no authority to convene such committees. And, no such committee can call anyone to clarify one’s position about anything,” Delwar said.
The speaker conducts the house and convenes committees following the ‘rules of procedures, according to him.
“The speaker as per the ‘rules of procedures’ cannot convene any such committee as he has already done to investigate graft charges against a former speaker.
“There are valid questions about the way the particular parliamentary standing committee was convened.”
The committee convened to investigate former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar has now been deployed to look into the doings of the ex-deputy speaker and chief whip, which is not right.
“Because the committee doesn’t have the required authority to do that,” he asserted.
Trashing the graft charge pressed against him, Delwar said, “This has been a political move-ill conceived and purposely done to ruin my political career and the image of my family.”
“In 2005, a section of the mass media had published baseless reports maligning me. They were so vindictive that they did not publish my protests.”
About Rabbi, the BNP secretary general said, “I know Fazle Rabbi very well. Instead of verifying the complaints raised against me, he is blindly accusing me himself.”
“How can the person who is pressing charges can assume the roles of investigator and judge too?”
The committee convened to investigate the corruption charges brought against Sircar Tuesday decided to summon the former speaker, former deputy speaker and former chief whip of the eighth parliament also to defend themselves before the committee.
During the first parliamentary session of the ninth parliament, speaker Abdul Hamid convened the committee.
A sub-committee of the said probe committee also recommended removing Barrister Jamir’s membership of the parliament for his corruption and moral turpitude. The sub-committee also recommended filing criminal cases against Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui and Khandaker Delwar Hossain for misuse of public money. It also recommended recovering the money that they misappropriated during the BNP-led alliance government.
BNP announced a 12-day programme from 25 May to 5 June to observe the 28th death anniversary on 30 May of its founder President Ziaur Rahman following the meeting. BNP central committee will hold discussions on the life and works of Ziaur Rahman on 29 May and on 31 May.
On May 30 they will pay homage to shaheed Zia’s grave and feed poor people across the country. The front organisations of BNP will hold discussions on the life and works of President Zia on the rest of the days of the 12-day programme.

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