JS secretariat paid fuel bill for Tarique

The Parliament Secretariat paid for the fuel of a government vehicle used in BNP's former senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman's political tours, a parliamentary sub-committee revealed yesterday. Tarique was never a member of parliament and thus entitled to nothing from the secretariat.The body probing alleged corruption that took place in the Parliament Secretariat during the last seven years also found evidence of irregularities and corruption of former chief whip Khandaker Delwar Hossain. The body says that the chief whip took unusual amount of office entertainment allowance and forced the secretariat to clear electricity bills of the flat building where he along with some tenants live.In June 2006, the then senior joint secretary general of BNP Tarique Rahman, son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, visited Mohadebpur of Naogaon, parliamentary constituency of former deputy speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui. A government vehicle meant for the former deputy speaker was used during Tarique's tour and the Parliament Secretariat paid for the 530 litres of fuel, chief of the sub-committee Shajahan Khan told reporters showing documents on the payment of the bill. The office of former deputy speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui received the payment. "This is just an example. Many such anomalies will be found if we can examine all documents on fuel allowances of the last seven years," Shajahan, also a ruling Awami League lawmaker, said after the sub-committee meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban."But it might not be possible for us to examine the large number of documents within the short time," he said, adding that the sub-committee was asked to submit its report to the all-party parliamentary probe body on May 31. The sub-committee will sit twice to finalise the probe report. Asked whether Tarique, who resigned from BNP during the tenure of the last caretaker government, was entitled to such government facilities, Shajahan said he was a nobody to the parliament and the government. "But documents show that the secretariat paid for the fuel for his tour in Naogaon," he said. They show that 100 litres of fuel was used each day of his tour, the sub-committee chief said. Allegation of using government facilities during Tarique's nationwide tour to revitalise the then ruling BNP was also raised.A member of the sub-committee said they have evidence that the former chief whip Delwar's office drew food allowances for 122 people every day for four months at the fag end of the last parliament.Interestingly, the former chief whip in a statement said he did not attend office during that period, the sub-committee member said.According to documents, the former chief whip's office drew the money for rice, vegetables, fish, meat, drinking water, and soft drinks to feed 122 people every day from July to October 2006. "It is really surprising. We are concentrating on finding out how much entertainment allowance the chief whip's office took in those four months," the sub-committee member said. Another member of the sub-committee said the former chief whip submitted electricity bills of the tenants of his flat building to the Parliament Secretariat for payment. Delwar is already accused of taking illegal medical bills and additional fuel allowance. He is also accused of embezzling furniture, a television set, and two refrigerators, which the Parliament Secretariat, at a cost of Tk 20 lakh, gave him for use. The former chief whip did not return those on expiry of the last parliament's tenure. He, however, in a letter told the then speaker Jamiruddin Sircar that the furniture and other items were either lost or damaged. He sought immunity from the liabilities. The former speaker acquitted him but said the law would take its own course if questions were raised in future in this regard. At yesterday's meeting the sub-committee, formed by the all-party parliamentary probe body, also discussed alleged anomalies in allocating residences to officials of Parliament Secretariat during the previous parliament's tenure.