TIB sometimes issues statements likewise political one: Hasan

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said anti-graft watchdog like Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is required in society but sometimes it is issuing statements likewise political ones.

He said this in a statement in the port city in response to a recent statement of TIB with the headline "87% Awami League candidates are millionaires".

Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary, said now the price of 5 katha land in villages is Tk1 crore and there is no land in Dhaka and Chattogram worth less than Tk1 crore which means many people are millionaires in the country now.

Responding to a TIB explanation over the matter, Hasan said the people didn't get perplexed over the TIB explanation as they understood through his analysis that now the word 'millionaire' doesn't carry any grave meaning.

Recalling many statements of TIB over finding their fabricated corruption in Padma Bridge, he said, "When the World Bank declined to finance in Padma Bridge construction, TIB stated that the government decision to finance Padma Bridge construction from alternative source is a way to shift the people's view to different direction and even if the decision becomes successful, it won't increase the government's acceptance.

"After the resignation of the then communications minister Abul Hossain, TIB commented that it had been too late as the minister should have resigned at the time when the WB raised allegations of corruption."

But it had been proved in the Canadian federal court that there was no corruption centering Padma Bridge, he said, adding it meant all of TIB statements were baseless and fabricated.

During the Coronavirus pandemic, TIB gave statements one after another and many of those were proved wrong, he mentioned.

"Apart from portraying fabricated pictures of corruption, TIB stated that 7.8% people of the country, which means around 1.5 lakh people, died from Covid-19 without getting any treatment. But the total death toll was less than 30,000," he said.

In 2015, TIB dubbed the Jatiya Sangsad as "a stage of puppet show", he recalled.

But the TIB never issued any statement against the killing of people by hurling petrol-bomb, he said.

TIB hurriedly issues statements even if anyone gets injured in any local government election, he said.

These are nothing but acting like political parties, he said.

The minister said organisations like TIB are required to strengthen democracy, build a corruption free society and ensure good governance but it is expected that their statements and reports should not be politically motivated and biased.