It’s them, not us!
BNP alleges AL hired lobbyists abroad with public money
BNP yesterday demanded a proper investigation, alleging that Awami League, not them, spent public money to hire lobbyists abroad.
"Ministers' claimed that they did not hire any lobbyist. The state minister for foreign affairs said a PR firm was given some tasks, but the evidence says something otherwise," said Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, party's standing committee member.
He gave the party's formal reaction to the government's allegation of BNP recruiting lobbyists abroad to campaign against Bangladesh at a press conference at BNP chairperson's Gulshan office.
Mosharraf said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam claimed that they never appointed any lobbyist but engaged a company purely on the media front in 2015. "But the evidence doesn't support it."
On behalf of US chapter AL, he claimed that a lobbyist firm, Alcalde and Fay was hired in the US on November 29, 2004. The BNP leader further alleged that the firm was paid $12.5 lakh in total ($30,000 each month) between 2005 and 2007.
Mosharraf said it is necessary to present a report before people on how much public money has been spent to engage lobbyists.
The BNP leader also presented some documents on the agreement with two US firms, Alcade and Fay, and Friedlander. He said Awami League has been working with another lobbyist firm, BGR, on a regular basis for many years.
"Friedlander, another lobbyist firm, was hired in September last year for a fee of $40,000 for a month to arrange a high-level meeting and exchange visits between the two countries [US and Bangladesh]. If you go to dig worms in this regard, bigger snakes will come out."
He said, "Our government has embassies in every country, it has offices of the Permanent Representative to the United Nations. What are those for? They were tasked to inform those countries about the events in Bangladesh and to explain them."
"Why should the government or a government party hire a lobbyist there? Despite having an embassy, it is unethical to hire a lobbyist spending public money."