Hasina upset as graft cases slip thru' net

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday expressed unhappiness as the corruption cases filed against bigwigs are getting quashed or stayed due to loopholes in the system and flaws in the process of charge framing.
At a regular cabinet meeting, the prime minister once again asked her cabinet colleagues as well as party leaders not to join with opposition BNP in speaking against the January, 2007 changeover.
Hasina also directed ministers, advisers, state ministers and top bureaucrats to work in coordination for executing various decisions and projects of the government.
"It is not acceptable that identified corrupt people, who made crores of taka and amassed huge wealth through various illicit means, should come out clean," a minister quoted Hasina as saying in the meeting.
"Allegations of corruptions brought against many of them are substantial and have merit. The genuine corrupt people should face trial in order to eradicate corruption from society," she said.
The prime minister directed Law Minister Shafique Ahmed to look into the matter seriously so that they cannot get away.
More than 200 high-profile corruption accused have so far obtained stay orders on their cases as the cases were filed without the sanction of Anti-Corruption Commission.
The trend of obtaining stay orders on cases began at the end of the state of emergency and it got momentum after a democratic government was formed in January this year.
About the January, 2007 changeover, Hasina said, "You must speak logically about the changeover as it had both good and bad parts."
Another cabinet minister quoted the prime minister as saying, "There are some positive outcomes from the changeover including a flawless voter list that led to a free and fair parliamentary election. If you continue speaking negatively against the changeover then questions may arise about those positive outcomes."
She had already warned her party leader Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir to this end, sources said.
Talking to The Daily Star a senior minister said the prime minister explained the January, 2007 changeover to her colleagues saying that if the situation had not been created, the stalled January 22, 2007 elections would have been held and a dangerous situation might have developed.
At the meeting, the prime minister expressed unhappiness over Finance Minister AMA Muhith not appointing new officials at top positions of state-owned commercial banks including Sonali, Agrani and Janata bank.
On July 6, at another cabinet meeting Hasina directed Muhith to appoint neutral persons in the boards of directors of the three banks.
Some ministers also expressed anguish over the finance minister's letters asking different ministries to go through the Economic Relations Division or the finance ministry when dealing with any donor agency.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith termed any ministry's move to directly approach the donor agencies a violation of rule of business.
The prime minister yesterday asked ministries concerned to take all necessary measures to check price hike of essentials ahead of Ramadan. She gave the instructions when a number of ministers informed the cabinet of some goods getting dearer.