Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Loose-talking MPs should apologise: TIB chief,Bangladesh


BANGLADESH NEWS

Voicing concern over the way MPs bashed noted litterateur Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed in Parliament, TIB Chairperson Advocate Sultana Kamal on Tuesday said the elected representatives are not above criticism.

“Where does the constitution in its text say that the elected representatives are above criticism …there’s nothing like that in the constitution,” she said at a press briefing at BMA auditorium in the city.

Referring to the MPs’ harsh criticism of Prof Abu Sayeed in the House on Sunday for his reported remarks against ministers and lawmakers, Sultana Kamal, also a former caretaker government adviser, said, “The way you (MPs) spoke in the House was embarrassing for us. “Those launched the fierce diatribe against Prof Abu Sayeed should apologise.”

The lawmakers claimed that Prof Abu Sayeed at a Transparency International Bangladesh function termed the MPs and ministers ‘thieves and robbers'.

Sultana Kamal demanded that the harsh remarks made by the MPs in Parliament be expunged.

She hoped that the remarks of public representatives will be more objective, descent and respectable as people’s hopes and expectations from them are diminishing day by day.

Sultana Kamal also urged the media to be more responsible in their duties as their reporting has raised the dust in the House.

TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman and its Trustee Board member Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed were present at the briefing.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman read out a written statement at the briefing.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Abu Sayeed said, “There’s no conformity between the remarks I made at the function and the report published in a section of newspapers.”

Prof Sayeed said he would not blame the MPs for their tirade against him because what they did they did seeing the newspaper reports. “No one of them (MPs) was aware of the facts.”

He appreciated Deputy Speaker Shawkat Ali for his Monday’s remarks against the MPs. “I’m grateful to him for his prudent and logical statements.”

The deputy speaker on Monday slammed the lawmakers for censuring Prof Abu Sayeed in parliament for his reported remarks against ministers and MPs.

“The way the MPs criticised Biswa Sahitya Kendra founder Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed in parliament was inappropriate. Before taking on him, they (MPs) should have known what he actually said,” the deputy speaker said.

Shawkat Ali was talking to reporters after a discussion at the Ministers' Hostel at the parliament building.

On Sunday, a number of ruling party MPs swiped at Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed and urged the Speaker to summon him to substantiate his ‘sweeping’ allegations.

Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed actually said, “It’s not corruption when a thief steals or a robber loots because they have no ethics which is hidden in the word “corruption”. As an example, he said, “When a minister or an MP who has taken oath to act in a fair and ethical manner fails to do so, when he does unjust after taking oath, it is corruption.”

No comments:

Post a Comment