Weather | Dhaka Speakers at a workshop yesterday termed the summoning of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) by parliamentary standing committee on public undertakings 'malafide' since, they claimed, the standing committee is headed by a convict.
“The person heading the parliamentary standing committee is a convict and it needs to be understood whether it is appropriate to summon a body like anti-corruption commission by the committee,” said Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of Shushashoner Janney Nagorik (Shujan).
“We feel the committee has gone beyond the scope of its operation with a malafide intent and leaders of the parliament should do something about the matter immediately. This action will raise questions about the government and whether the government institution is being used with malafide intent,” he said.
He was speaking at a two-day-long workshop titled “Right to transparent governance, South Asian Perspective,” organised by South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), at Brac Centre Inn.
The parliamentary standing committee headed by Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir sent a letter to the commission on April 7 asking the acting ACC chairman and its commissioners to appear before it on April 12.
Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir was sentenced to 13 years in prison in a case for amassing around Tk 3.27 crore through misuse of power.
AL lawmaker Saber Hossain Chowdhury said, “The ACC commissioners should have gone before the committee in reply to the summon. It is not the parliament or lawmakers, the arbitrators of the committee are, after all, people of the country.”
“Democracy is not everything about elections but what happens in between the elections. As the government has won a four-fifths majority, the big challenge for the government is how to maintain this majority,” he said.
Speakers also emphasised making the parliament and local government system effective as that would be the only way to ensure democracy in the country. They criticised the government for strengthening the power of lawmakers over the local government.
Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno, said, “The people of Bangladesh were very shocked when the government increased the control of lawmakers over the local government against its pledge of strengthening the local government.”
“There should be a business calendar for the parliament. The lawmakers should come and attend the sessions, thus contributing to the parliament's functioning,” lawmaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury said.
Speakers also talked of scrutinising the defence budget to check misuse of a huge amount of money, ensuring information about budgetary matters to the citizens of the country and ensuring transparency in the budget.
Executive Director of TIB Iftekharuzzaman, human rights activist Hamida Hossain were present at the seminar among others while representatives from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives also attended the seminar.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 10:28 AM GMT+06:00 (42 weeks ago)
The nation has seen with a great amount of shock that the law makers belonging to different political parties involve themselves in bitter arguments over relatively small issues ;like distribution of seats but when it comes to issues like summoning ACC, sharing power with Upazila Chairman,etc. they forget all differences and voice one single opinion.In other words they see eye to eye when they have a common axe to grind. Many Parliamentarians before they were elected talked eloquently in seminars and talk-shows in favour of giving Upazila Chairman unfettered freedom and spoke against interference by MPs but now that they are in the House they have unanimously voted in favour of the UZ Bill.This is nothing but opportunism in the highest order. In the same spirit, the lawmakers who were convicted or were proceeded against due to charges brought by ACC are seized with enthusiasm to make ACC bite the dust. It smells of nothing but reprisal. Sooner the lawmakers get rid of such person-mongering syndrome the better for the country.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 01:33 PM GMT+06:00 (42 weeks ago)
A convict should not the head a committee. its intention will be parallel to its motive .
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 01:44 PM GMT+06:00 (42 weeks ago)
Conscious people of the country shocked. Those who created this system their mind was very clean ,but now those who are implementing this system not only creating problem for them but also for the Nation.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 05:20 PM GMT+06:00 (42 weeks ago)
ACC must be granted unhindered freedom of action, if Govt is serious about a corruption free society. If a JS body gets an upper hand over ACC activitities, we have then granted licence to be corrupt to over 300 influential citizens of the country. This is a scenarior people in general must object to. The only course of remedy against any percieved wrong doing of ACC must only come through the court of law where both ACC and the Victims are equal.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 09:02 PM GMT+06:00 (42 weeks ago)
A committee headed by a lawmaker sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for amassing wealth illegally has no moral to summon ACC, a constitutional body framed charge of corruption against him. A convict can't be the judge of a plaintiff.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 06:31 PM GMT+06:00 (42 weeks ago)
All the convicts are not same. People of his constituency also gave a verdict. We can remember when some renowned, famous and honest personalities gave testimony in favor of him. Nobody is above the country's law and constitution, obedience of these doesn't degrade the dignity.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 06:45 PM GMT+06:00 (42 weeks ago)
It is indeed a flagrant violation of rule of law that a convicted person have the audacity to act as the chairman of a parliamentary committee to scrutinize the works of the ACC. You may expect this sort of behaviour in countries like Haiti & Zimbabwe. It seems he has either already fixed up his acquittal from convictions in the appeals to be heard in the appellate court or trying to intimidate the judiciary to follow suit. We believe the judiciary is independent now. The AL followers & supporters should rise to the occasion and ask the Prime Minister to rein in. People have better expectation this time from the AL government.
Thursday, April 23, 2009 08:11 AM GMT+06:00 (42 weeks ago)
Even if the ACC Chief or the members or the officials are not thieves or at fault, they should have appeared before the JS body. No matter who heads it We must respect the constitution and the verdict of the people.No one can claim he is the 'Law' and speaking about Convict! Who is not!