JS secretariat paid fuel bill for Tarique
The Parliament Secretariat had to meet the fuel cost for a government vehicle used in a political tour by BNP's former senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman, said a parliamentary sub-committee yesterday.
Tarique, also son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was never a member of parliament, and so he was entitled to nothing from the Jatiya Sangsad.
The parliamentary body probing alleged corruption in the Parliament Secretariat during the last seven years also found evidence of irregularities involving former chief whip Khandaker Delwar Hossain.
The sub-committee commissioned by the all-party probe committee says Delwar drew an unusual amount as office entertainment allowances and also forced the secretariat to clear the electricity bills for him and tenants of other flats in his building.
In June 2006, Tarique Rahman, who resigned from BNP during the caretaker government rule, visited Mohadebpur of Naogaon, parliamentary constituency of former deputy speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui.
A government vehicle allocated to the former deputy speaker was used in Tarique's tour that time. The Parliament Secretariat had to pay for 530 litres of fuel, sub-committee chief Shajahan Khan told reporters, flashing the payment documents.
The former deputy speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui's office received the payment for the fuel it mentioned was used in Tarique's tour.
"This is just one example. Many such anomalies will come out if we can examine all documents on fuel allowances in the last seven years," said Shajahan, also a ruling Awami League lawmaker.
He was talking to reporters said after a meeting of the sub-committee at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
"But it might not be possible for us to examine the large number of documents within such a short time," he said, adding that they have been asked to submit report to the all-party parliamentary probe body on May 31.
The sub-committee will sit soon to finalise the report.
Asked if Tarique was entitled to such government facilities, sub-committee chief Shajahan said as he was neither in parliament or the government, he did not qualify for the benefits.
But documents show the secretariat paid for the fuel for his tour in Naogaon. They show that 100 litres of fuel was used each day during his tour, he added.
Allegations are rife that Tarique had various government services and benefits during his nationwide tour to revitalise the then ruling BNP.
A member of the sub-committee said they have evidence that the former chief whip's office drew food allowances for 122 people every day for four months towards the end of last parliament.
Interestingly, Delwar in a statement said he did not attend office during that period, the sub-committee member said.
According to documents, the former chief whip's office drew money to buy rice, vegetables, fish, meat, drinking water and soft drinks for 122 people every day from July to October 2006.
"It's really surprising. We are trying to know how much entertainment allowance the chief whip's office took in those four months," the sub-committee member said.
Delwar already stands accused of receiving illegal medical bills and additional fuel allowance. He is also accused of taking away furniture, a television set, and two refrigerators--all bought by the Parliament Secretariat at a cost of Tk 20 lakh for his use.
The former chief whip did not return any of those on expiry of the last parliament's tenure. He, however, in a letter told the then speaker Jamiruddin Sircar that the furniture and other items had either been lost or damaged. He sought immunity from liability for the “damages and loss”.
Sircar let go of it, but said the law would take its own course if questions were raised in future.
At yesterday's meeting, the sub-committee also discussed allegations of anomalies in house allocations for the Parliament Secretariat officials during the last parliament's tenure.
Comments