Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has raised concerns over serious corruption allegations against certain advisers of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government. “I know that most advisers are not involved in corruption, but accusations of corruption are being raised, and the scale of that corruption is serious,” Rizvi said at a program titled “60 lakh accused in false cases under fascism: How far the redress”, organized by the Nationalist Research Forum at the Jatiya Press Club on Saturday.
He pointed to allegations against the health adviser’s personal assistant (PA) and another adviser’s assistant private secretary (APS), calling it a “terrible thing.” Rizvi expressed deep respect for the students’ movement, crediting them for their role in the mass uprising against Sheikh Hasina’s regime, but said, “Students would have done well if they had raised their voices on campuses against the corruption in state, politics, society and bureaucracy. Their strong voices are needed to address the many injustices and misdeeds that have infiltrated the state.”
He urged students to exercise caution after joining the government, questioning, “Why should an allegation of corruption worth a hundred crores of taka be brought against their APSs? Why should they be accused of being involved in transfer trading?” Rizvi alleged that some Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leaders were exploiting their influence in ministries for personal gain. “Just as there are parliamentary standing committees, there are also ministerial committees of students. This is tarnishing the image of the students. Why should they do this?”
Referring to the Railways Ministry, he claimed students had formed a committee overseeing the ministry and were involved in black marketing train tickets worth several hundred crores during Ramadan. He questioned, “Why should students play the role of a watchdog in a department like the Railways? They are supposed to be on campus, where they will speak out against injustice, corruption, and irregularities.” Rizvi criticised the interim government for not taking stern action against these issues and accused Awami League leaders of amassing wealth through widespread looting.
He alleged Sheikh Hasina’s regime filed false cases against around 60 lakh BNP leaders and activists to suppress opposition, questioning why these cases have not been withdrawn even after eight months of the interim government’s tenure. He further asked why cases against Chief Adviser Yunus were dismissed, but no similar steps were taken to dispose of the cases against BNP members. “These cases should have been archived in the courts during these eight months of the interim government’s tenure. These cases should be disposed of,” Rizvi said.