Govt graft got ‘globally recognised’: Rizvi

BNP yesterday alleged that the current government's corruption has got international recognition through sentencing of Bangladeshi MP Mohammad Shahid Islam alias Kazi Papul by a Kuwaiti court in a bribery case.

"This [Papul's conviction] is a matter of shame for the country. The current government… can't avoid the responsibility for it," said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He said, "MPs like Papul would not have dared to indulge in reckless corruption without their [government's] patronage."

The BNP leader made the remarks at a press briefing at the party's Nayapaltan central office in Dhaka.

On Thursday, a Kuwaiti court sentenced Papul and four others to four years in jail on the charge of bribing Kuwaiti officials with millions of dollars to recruit Bangladeshi workers and get contracts for his company.

The court also fined them 1.9 million dinars, reports Kuwait Times. The MP is also an accused in two other cases on charges of human trafficking and money laundering.

Rizvi alleged that though Papul did not have any political background, he has been made an MP in the 11th parliament only because of his huge amount of money. "His wife has also been made an MP. Depoliticisation has taken place as politics has been criminalised in this way by Awami League," he said.

Rizvi said ACC did not take proper action against Papul's wife, daughter and sister-in-law despite having specific evidence about their corruption.