Nazrul says PM’s comment over BNP’s nomination trade ‘imaginary’

Terming imaginary Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s comment that BNP indulged in ‘nomination trade’ during the 11th parliamentary election swelled Bangladeshis’ deposits in the Swiss banks, UNB reports.

Speaking at a human-chain programme, he also said the national budget passed in parliament on Sunday will not only push up profits of businessmen, instead of ensuring people’s welfare.

BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan on Sunday termed imaginary Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s comment that BNP’s ‘nomination trade’ during the 11th parliamentary election swelled Bangladeshis’ deposits in the Swiss banks.

Speaking at a human-chain programme, he also said the national budget passed in parliament on Sunday will not only push up profits of businessmen, instead of ensuring people’s welfare.

“The Prime Minister told parliament yesterday (Saturday) that BNP indulged in nomination trade and deposited the money in the Swiss banks. Do you (PM) think people will believe it?” the BNP leader said.

He said no report on siphoning off money in the outgoing fiscal, in which the last general election was held, has so far been published. “But you (PM) got the nomination trade and siphoning off the money (by BNP leaders) in your imagination.”

Referring to Swiss National Bank’s (SNB’s) report on siphoning off several thousand crores of taka in 2018, the BNP leader questioned who collected the huge amount of money through nomination trade and deposited it in the Swiss banks in the last fiscal. “Why’re you not making public the list of those who siphoned off the money?

Nazrul, a BNP standing committee member, also claimed that around Tk 40,000 crore was laundered from Bangladesh in the last 10 years.

He asked the Prime Minister to explain the reason for not identifying those who siphoned off the huge amount of money of the country’s people and disclosing their names.

Jatiyatabdi Sramik Dal arranged the human chain programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club demanding the release of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

About the national budget, Nazrul said it is not a business-friendly budget, rather businessmen-friendly one. “This budget won’t help increase employment opportunity. People won’t get benefitted from it as businessmen will make huge money getting the facilities given in the budget, and will siphon off it abroad.”

Nazrul criticised Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque for his comment about removing BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave from the Jatiya Sangsad premises.

“Don’t try to play with the grave of Ziaur Rahman as people will take a position against it,” he warned the government.