Staff correspondent
The ruling party and the opposition on Sunday continued demanding formation of high-powered parliamentary committees to examine extra-constitutional activities of the immediate-past military-controlled interim government.
BNP-led main opposition lawmakers on Sunday supported the proposal of the archrival Awami League lawmaker Abdul Jalil for the formation of a parliamentary committee, with the speaker as its chief, to investigate the incidents of torture on politicians and other persons in the custody of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence.
‘Mr [Abdul] Jalil proposed to form a special committee with the speaker as its chief to investigate the incidents of torture on him and other politicians. We agree to his proposal,’ senior BNP lawmaker Salaudddin Quader Chowdhury said after a meeting of the main opposition lawmakers in the meeting room of the leader of the opposition on Sunday. About 25 opposition lawmakers joined the meeting.
‘We want to join the session to express our solidarity with his sentiment,’ Salauddin said.
He said the opposition lawmakers gave notice for adjournment motions to discuss the sufferings of the Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, now leader of the house and the prime minister, when she was taken to court after her arrest (on July 16, 2007). ‘It was inhuman that she was pushed into the court.’
He said they gave the notice as they wanted to help the government to become stronger. ‘Democracy becomes stronger if the government remains strong.’
The Awami League general secretary, Abdul Jalil, on January 29 came down heavy on the military intelligence agency DGFI and demanded its activities should be restricted only to defence forces, according to the news agency bdnews24.com.
‘We have fought for human rights. But we have created an agency which fails to treat human beings with dignity. The name of this agency is DGFI,’ Jalil said in the parliament.
‘It makes fun out of politicians and undermines them. It does not care about anyone,’ said Jalil, who alleged DGFI officers had arrested him blindfolded and detained him for five days.
Awami League presidium member Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir on Sunday proposed in the house that a parliamentary committee should be formed to investigate the extra-constitutional activities by the governments led by Iajuddin Ahmed and Fakhruddin Ahmed in the name of drives against corruption and for their abuse of powers.
He said this during the debate on the thanksgiving motion on the president’s inaugural speech in the house.
‘The government of Fakhruddin Ahmed tried to grab power by controlling politicians in the name of anti-corruption drives and the president did not protest at such anti-constitutional activities and Iajuddin Ahmed this way became engaged in treason with the republic,’ he said. ‘It is hard for me to thank the president.’
Bureaucrat-turned-politician Mohiuddin Alamgir said, ‘The highest amount of money was siphoned off the country when Fakhruddin Ahmed was the governor of the Bangladesh Bank.’ He demanded a parliamentary committee to investigate the fact.
He strongly criticised the activities of the members of a section of the armed forces during the past two years. ‘They tried to depoliticise the country by humiliating the politicians.’
‘Twelve armed forces members were made directors, out of the 18 such positions in the Anti corruption Commission… Is the armed forces alone a symbol of honesty? Is there not any honest person in other community?’ he said.
Mohiuddin, who was jailed during a crackdown in the interim period, demanded immediate dismissal of the Anti-Corruption Commission chairman, Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury. ‘I do not want any person, who declared him general without joining any battle, in such a constitutional post.’
He also demanded disclosure of statements of wealth of the commission’s chairman and the commissioners.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
