Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
Hasnat Abdullah, Chief Organiser (South) of Bangladesh’s student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), on Wednesday, accused interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus of nepotism, calling Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum’s appointment “the biggest proof” of it.
“We have a health adviser who came through Dr Yunus’ ‘bhai-brother quota’. This is the biggest proof of his nepotism,” Hasnat said at a Chandpur event during the party’s ‘July Podojatra’ campaign. Demanding her resignation, he added, “She has no responsibilities and the salary she draws is completely unjustified. This health adviser should immediately return the public money she has received and resign.”
Hasnat also criticised her credentials: “She does not understand healthcare, medicine, or have any instrumental knowledge in the field. Her only qualification is that she once worked at Grameen Bank and is close to Dr Yunus. What are we supposed to do with such a health adviser?” He further alleged, “The car she uses is bought with government money. That is a betrayal of the people.”
Referring to her alleged overseas medical care, Hasnat said, “She goes to Singapore for her own treatment. When we speak up about it, they get angry. I once raised the issue and since then she has stopped talking to us.”
He expressed frustration with the Yunus-led interim administration: “We wanted to restructure the state after the uprising (the student-led 2024 mass uprising that ousted former PM Sheikh Hasina), but the healthcare and law and order systems remain the same. Expectations from this government are gradually fading.”