Govt slated for letting Khaleda, Saifur legalise hidden money
Staff Correspondent
Two senior leaders of Awami League (AL) and BNP yesterday said the government's move allowing former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and former finance minister Saifur Rahman to legalise their undisclosed money was not legally sound."If taxes are not paid on time, then it is a violation of law, and none is above the law," said BNP Chairperson's Adviser Maj Gen (retd) ZA Khan on BBC Bangladesh Sanglap in Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital, while AL Presidium Member Motia Chowdhury said, "The move is unacceptable both legally and in principle." Khaleda and Saifur legalised their undisclosed money last week by paying taxes on them under an ongoing amnesty provided by the government for those tax payers who had earned money legally but did not declare that in their tax returns. Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court Dr Shahdeen Malik, and Samillito Sangskritik Jote President Nasiruddin Yusuf also participated in the discussion. Dr Malik said Khaleda Zia has lost her moral ground to be a prime minister in the future by the act of keeping her money undisclosed until the amnesty. Nasiruddin Yusuf said people who would govern the country should be transparent. BBC Bangla Service in conjunction with BBC World Service Trust organised the discussion which was moderated by BBC's Shakeel Anwar and produced by Waliur Rahman Miraz. Replying to a query, the discussants also said if the money donated to the chief adviser's relief fund can be considered as tax free and if no question is asked about its source, then the rule should be applied to other individual and private donations too. Motia said all money donated for flood victims should be white and transparent irrespective of which fund it is being donated to. ZA Khan said it would not be right if questions were raised about the money donated to relief funds other than the chief adviser's one. Dr Malik said the source of donation money must be known as none is above the law. "If black money is accepted for helping flood victims right now, then the use of it will be encouraged," said the lawyer. "Why the money donated to the chief adviser's fund would become white?" asked Yusuf adding that the caretaker government should not impose any condition on helping the flood victims. All the discussants also urged the government to take appropriate measures to tackle the price hike of everyday essentials.
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