MP Rumeen seeks govt plot, BNP ‘embarrassed’
Two months after taking oath, BNP lawmaker Rumeen Farhana sought allotment of a 10 katha plot in Dhaka’s Purbachal from the government she terms “illegal”.
Rumeen, the lone reserved seat BNP lawmaker, wrote to the public works affairs minister on August 3.
In the letter, she wrote that she would be “ever grateful” if the government allocated her a plot as she didn’t have any land or flat in Dhaka.
Rumeen, assistant international affairs secretary of the BNP’s central executive committee, took oath as a lawmaker on June 9.
The letter recently went viral on social media.
Asked about the letter, Rumeen told The Daily Star that she didn’t grab anyone’s land, but rather asked for a state benefit available for an MP.
“Why was the letter made viral on social media? Why did the ministry leak it? Will the government leak the letter of other lawmakers on social media?” she said, adding that the government did it because she was an opposition MP.
By publishing the letter, Rumeen said, the government had revealed the fact that no information is safe in their hands.
“A few days ago, former finance minister AMA Muhith bought a duty-free car though he is not a lawmaker,” the BNP lawmaker said, adding that the government had published her letter to cover up that incident.
A section of BNP leaders has expressed disappointment over Rumeen’s petition for the plot.
“She went to parliament to demand the release of Khaleda Zia, not to seek any plot. It is embarrassing for us,” a senior BNP leader, wishing anonymity, told The Daily Star.
He also said the issue would be discussed in the party forum and the party high-ups should seek an explanation from Rumeen.
The BNP-led Oikyafront, which boycotted the January 5, 2014 election, contested the last parliamentary election and won six seats. Five lawmakers-elect took the oath while party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir refused to take oath.