Editorial for Asia Post
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Khalida Zia’s Cantonment House :This Public Call Of Return the House Was Un-necessary
National press has reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the 6 Shaheed Mainul Road house in Dhaka Cantonment was allocated to Khaleda Zia violating the Cantonment Board's rules and her cabinet would decide about cancellation of the allocation. "She [Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia] should not keep the house ignoring the law. She should leave the house willingly," Hasina, also leader of the House, said in parliament.The premier said if Khaleda returns the house the government would construct apartment buildings on that 2.72-acre land and allocate two apartments for each of the families of army officers, who were brutally killed in the BDR carnage.”In reply to a query of AL lawmaker Nazrul Islam Babu, the PM said she checked the minutes of the cabinet meeting held on June 12, 1981. The cabinet did not allocate the 6 Mainul Road house for Khaleda; rather it allocated a house for her in Gulshan, Hasina added. "She was supposed to leave the Mainul Road house. But she took the property in her name in addition to allocation of a house in Gulshan," the premier added. AL lawmaker and former law minister Abdul Matin Khasru drew the premier's attention that the house was leased for 99 years for Khaleda under some conditions including restriction on political activities from the house.But Khaleda violated the condition as she has been carrying out political activities staying at the house, and head office of Dandy dyeing was set up there, Khasru claimed. The AL lawmaker asked whether the government will cancel the lease on grounds of violation of conditions.The premier said it's true the cantonment authorities cannot allocate the house, which was allocated for Khaleda violating laws."Her [Khaleda Zia] family took loan mortgaging the house to bank, which is also violation of the condition of the lease," the premier said. During the question-answer, the leader of the house several times asked the leader of the opposition to return the house to the army..In reply to a query of Jatiya Party lawmaker Hafizuddin Ahmed, the premier said if anybody is to be responsible for allocation of the Mainul Road house for Khaleda, former president HM Ershad should be responsible. "Violating the law, Ershad allocated the house for Khaleda Zia," Hasina said.The PM said the former prime minister [Khaleda] has now crores of taka and is no more insolvent and should leave the house.""Why will you live in the cantonment being a political leader? You were allocated another house on one-and-a-half-bigha land in Gulshan, then why will you keep the army's land?" Hasina asked."If you [Khaleda] now leave the house for the martyrs' families, the people will respect you more," the premier said.
We do not find any justification for such statement in the Parliament.It is also apparent that the question was raised with deliberate intent at this time. .This will increase political division in the country. If there was any irregularity, even the Awami League government of 1996-2001 did not do anything about it .Then why so much discussion now ? The government is a continuity, the present government can not withdraw any benefit that was given by Ershad sahib’s government in 1981 .Who does not know that 99 years lease mean permanent ownership of the lessee in law ? To ask Khalida Zia to return the land at Shahid Mainul Hasan road will be interpreted as pressurising her and this will also be interpreted as very unwelcome sort of political conduct..If Begum Zia has not followed any condition of lease document ner attention could be drawn quitely.We know that her party’ most political work is done from BNP’s head office in Purana Paltan, Dhaka and from Gulshan office of the party chairman, then why so much fuss about this.We are worried abot the degeneration of political culture.We ask all sincere persons to stem this decline.There is no shortabe of land in Dhaka or even in Cantonment to make flats for the killed officers of Army in BDR mutiny, vacation of Khalida Zia’s residence is not essential for that.
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