DHAKA, 24 October 2007 — The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will question Awami League chief and former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed in connection with a graft case filed against her and six others on Sept. 2.
ACC Deputy Director Morshed Alam has sought the court’s permission to interrogate the former premier who was detained on July 16 on extortion charges.
ACC Secretary Mukhlesur Rahman said the former prime minister would be questioned as per the law.
The anti-graft body filed the case with police accusing Hasina and others of receiving kickbacks for allowing a foreign company to set up a 100-megawatt power plant in Khulna. The former prime minister and six others in her government received 30 million taka as commission.
Parties Seek to Rebuild Unity
Bangladesh’s main political parties have stopped pushing for reforms to curtail the powers of their fallen leaders and instead are rallying around them ahead of elections planned for late next year.
The reforms were driven by groups of senior politicians and aimed to sideline Hasina and another former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who head Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party respectively.
The two women are now in jail awaiting possible trial for alleged corruption and abuse of power. If convicted, they would be barred from contesting parliamentary polls expected to be held at the end of 2008.
The dissidents accused Hasina and Khaleda of exercising “dictatorial control” and of trying to build family dynasties to perpetuate power.
But lately they have changed tack and they now say their prime task is to win the freedom of their leaders and secure party unity. “For their own political survival they need to keep their rank-and-file united (even) at the cost of not reforming the parties nor declaring abhorrence for corruption,” said Syed Mohammad Ibrahim, a defense and political analyst.
