Even if the Speaker commits corruption, call the cameras and name him first, Hafiz Uddin tells caucus members

Describing corruption as Bangladesh's main problem, National Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad has called for raising voices against it. Addressing members of the all-party parliamentary caucus, he said a first committee against corruption must be formed and, if needed, irregularities must be exposed by holding press conferences and calling in cameras. He advised that even if the Speaker himself commits corruption, that should be revealed first.

The Speaker made the remarks as chief guest on Thursday, November 12, at an event of the All-Party Parliamentary Caucus for Disadvantaged Communities. In the presence of caucus president Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, he spoke on the country's politics, elections, corruption and the rights of disadvantaged people.

Addressing the caucus members, Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said they should hold press conferences against corruption and call the cameras to say what corruption has taken place. If the Speaker commits corruption, they should say that too, naming the Speaker first, and then also name the chief whip and Mahbub Uddin Khokon, he said.

Highlighting the scale of corruption, the Speaker criticised the former government, saying the former prime minister is now sheltered in a neighbouring state and her PS alone owns Tk 400 crore, which makes it easy to understand who commits corruption. When he initially said prime minister's PS by a slip and the audience pointed it out, he joked that he had meant Tk 450 crore.

Noting that Mahbub Uddin Khokon had earned money through hard work in law practice, the Speaker joked that Khokon now works 16 hours a day and must reduce that time to give time to the caucus.

The Speaker blamed politicians themselves for the deprivation of the country's people. He said bureaucrats were once more powerful than politicians, but since the 1980s the driving force of running the country has passed into politicians' hands. Now even a small village-level political worker is very powerful. Politics is now all-pervading, so if politics is fixed, the country will be fixed, he said.

Recalling the July-August 2024 mass uprising, the Speaker said that two years ago everyone was hopeless that the country would never be freed. But how powerful ordinary people's power is was seen in July-August. If ordinary people had not taken to the streets, these mafias could not have been removed and powerful leaders would not have been forced to flee within moments, he said.

Criticising the last three national elections, he said that despite being a candidate in the 2018 election, he was not allowed to go to his own area in Bhola, and his launch was broken and taken across the river. Later, when he went to the area under police protection, he was confined to his home for 16 days. And Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, seated beside him, was shot from six yards away by uniformed police during election campaigning, he said.

Saying the country has been freed from that dark era, he said the current parliament is genuinely elected. Now there is no way but to hold fair elections, rigging is very difficult, and if elections are not fair the country will catch fire. He called on the Election Commission to take measures so that people without wealth can also stand in elections and the use of black money is stopped.

Hafiz Uddin Ahmad expressed his personal view in favour of abolishing the reserved seats for women in the National Parliament. He said 15 seats were kept reserved in the first parliament because women were behind, with the spirit that it would gradually be abolished. But it has now grown to 50. If reserved seats remain this way, women will never become self-reliant. Many qualified and educated women now come to parliament by direct election, and this parliament has seven to eight directly elected women MPs including six women barristers. He suggested the nomination system could be scrapped and, if needed, one-third women nominations could be made mandatory for political parties.

The Speaker also paid deep respect to his Dhaka University teachers of 1961-65, Professor Rehman Sobhan and Dr Rowanak Jahan. Recalling Rehman Sobhan's role against discrimination against East Pakistan in the 1960s, he said knowledgeable and accomplished people in this country are not given their due honour. He also praised Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya's tireless efforts behind forming the all-party caucus.

He expressed hope that, instead of returning to the culture of boycotting parliament or the caucus on party decisions as in the past, this caucus will play a historic role in changing the fate of the country's 35 million poor and disadvantaged people.