Railwaygate scandal
Photo: Palash Khan
That day at a seminar speech Qader Siddiqi said that Hasina's days are not going well and nowadays she contacts him often. Although he did not clarify why Sheikh Hasina, the most powerful person of Bangladesh, contacts Qader Siddiqi, but it is not very difficult to understand the reasons considering the present political situation in the country. No doubt the turbulence created by this railwaygate scam will add a new dimension to her worry. Media reports say that there is a bribery nexus involving the railway minister and others, from to bottom in the ministry and that in the recruitments against 7000 posts in last one year, almost all the candidates had to pay bribe ranging from Tk 2.5 to Tk 6 lakh to that nexus. From this it can be easily estimated that this recruitment business generated more than Tk 400 crore and the recent recovery of Tk70 lakh from the possession of the railway minister's assistant personal secretary (APS) and two top railway officials is only a tiny fraction of the entire scam. The minister's statement supporting his staffs proved beyond doubt that he was aware of this corruption business. Amid widespread criticism, the railway ministry reshaped one of the two committees it had formed earlier to probe the case but it is clear that the outcome will certify the minister innocence as it is just a departmental committee and not an independent or judicial one. But at last Suranjit's resignation has saved the party's face already tarnished beyond repair.
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