Khaleda should disclose
sources of income: PM
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Thursday told parliament that the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, should let the people know about her sources of income with which she had bought the 'costly' household articles that were found at the Mainul Road house.
Hasina also instructed the finance minister to check Khaleda's tax file, submitted to the interim government, to verify whether the latter had evaded tax.
'The BNP chief has to disclose her sources of income by which she bought the furniture and other costly goods,' said the leader of the house in her concluding speech at the brief seventh session of the ninth parliament. 'I want to know it,' the prime minister said.
Hasina said that the opposition leader had lived in the cantonment house which had 45 rooms, 12 bathrooms and four kitchens with 64 air coolers.
'A total of 29 vehicles, including 14 covered vans and two large trucks were used to take her household articles and she submitted another long list of the goods. If the BNP chief had bought the articles with her own money, from where she got the money,' asked the prime minister, adding that the people knew that Ziaur Rahman did not leave
anything in the house.
'Poor people's money was looted to build up such huge wealth. She should give the account of her sources of income to the people,' said Hasina.
Hasina said that after plundering public wealth, they [BNP] had enforced hartal for a house although she [Khaleda] was given another house.
The prime minister also criticised the Jatiya Party chairman, Hossain Mohammad Ershad, for giving the cantonment house to Khaleda.
'He [Ershad] should also explain why he had given the house to his "bhabijan" (sister-in-law),' Hasina quipped.
Rejecting Ershad's proposal to create seven provinces to ease pressure on Dhaka city, Hasina said, 'I think creation of provinces would not resolve the problems.' 'Bangladesh is a small country. Creating provinces would result in top heavy administration. More people would be appointed, more buildings would be built at the state level and public spending would increase,' said the prime minister.
'It would be more effective if we make the district councils stronger by decentralising administration,' she said. http://www.newagebd.com/2010/dec/10/front.html | 