Ruling party MPs, ministers have Aladdin's lamp: Rizvi

The declaration of assets of many ruling party candidates shown in their affidavit documents submitted to the Election Commission is "like the story of Aladdin's lamp", BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Wednesday.

However, he said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is completely silent about these financial statements since it has become a tool only to oppress and harass the opposition party leaders and dissidents.

Speaking at a virtual press briefing, the BNP leader also said,  "The affidavits of their [AL's] ministers, MPs, and dummy and beneficiary independent candidates of the upcoming one-party and stage-managed election remind of the famous Aladdin's lamp in the Arabic fairytale."

Rizvi also said the ruling party leaders amassed a mountain of wealth and a fleet of cars with the touch of Awami League's magic stick. "The ministers who had an annual income below one lakh in their affidavits 10 years back now own crores of taka."

Rizvi said the ministers, MPs of the "vote-robbing" regime and the ruling party leaders have amassed huge wealth and cash in the last 15 years. "Their wives, children and in-laws have also become unusually rich."

He also said the ruling party leaders still showed very little wealth of their original assets in the affidavits they submitted to the Election Commission to contest the forthcoming national election. "They didn't mention their ill-gotten money, second homes abroad and the money they siphoned off abroad in their affidavits."

Rizvi claimed that more than 340 leaders and activists have been arrested in the last 24 hours as of 5pm on Wednesday.