The flip side
In some Bangla newspapers of 27 May '09 there was a headline “Speaker entertained President with tea costing 90 thousand taka.” This news item is reported to have been provided by the parliamentary sub-committee which is investigating irregularities committed by the ex-speaker of parliament. Ever since the committees have started their fact-finding missions, news reports of their daily findings are being leaked to the press. People are reading those reports with interest, the press is getting good sale and the investigators are feeling great.
I do not object to the investigations. Whatever high profile he/she may be, one should not go unchallenged and the parliamentary committee constituted by the present speaker is a right step. But one thing is true that the man who is reported to have committed such irregularities was holding the 2nd highest position of the Republic. So, the state has some responsibility to protect the prestige of that position and should not disclose some minor irregularities which might have been committed. This tarnishes the image of the nation as a whole.
Taka 90 thousand is equivalent to US dollar 1285.00. Say, if an average British or US citizen learns that the speaker of a country spent $1285 for entertaining their country's president, they will laugh at us. Even in Bangladesh many small but high-tea parties held in the posh hotels are spending such amounts for entertaining a similar number of guests every night. In the present market it is not a "big deal" and the investigators should not have disclosed this trifling matter to public.
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