PM's remarks on crossfire, wealth report contradict AL manifesto
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Thursday's statements on making public wealth statements of ministers, lawmakers and herself, and stopping extrajudicial killings contradict her party's election manifesto.
Awami League in its manifesto placed before the nation ahead of the December 29, 2008 parliamentary elections, said, "Wealth statements and sources of income of the prime minister, members of the cabinet, parliament members and of their family members will be made public every year." However, addressing a press conference at her official residence Gono Bhaban Thursday, Awami League President Hasina questioned the necessity of divulging such information.
The party manifesto titled "charter for change" drew huge public support and was appreciated by different professional groups, ultimately ensuring the party's landslide victory.
Hasina apparently tried to sidestep when a reporter asked why the wealth statements of her ministers and lawmakers and herself have not been made public. She told journalists, many of them editors, that she along with her cabinet members and lawmakers submits wealth statements and pays taxes to the National Board of Revenue every year and she has the documents.
Besides, they had submitted their wealth statements to the Election Commission prior to the December 2008 election, she said. Hasina and her party leaders submitted their wealth statements to the Election Commission prior to the election as candidates, not as prime minister, minister or lawmaker.
Making public their wealth statements is in the manifesto (chapter establishment of good governance) as top five priority issues.
The Awami League council approved the party's election manifesto and declaration paper on July 24, 2009 where the line "Extrajudicial killing will be stopped" is present. Interestingly, the English version of the manifesto, put on the party website, does not have that line.
On extrajudicial killing, the premier said a practice that was initiated during the BNP-Jamaat alliance rule cannot be stopped overnight. Hasina told the press conference that her government does not support such killings. But she did not mention anything about what measures the government has taken to stop these killings and honour the electoral pledge of the party. She said her government investigates every such unlawful killings and that she was against such killings since the very beginning.
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