“The Liberation War is the foundation of Bangladesh as a state and its politics. The country’s very existence cannot be imagined without 1971.”
This is not the first time BNP acting chief Tarique Rahman has spoken about the war with Pakistan that saw the emergence of Bangladesh. With him expected to formally take over as party chief amid the countdown to elections next month, Rahman appeared to be signalling that the BNP was not like the Jamaat-e-Islami, which sided with Pakistan.
Does that suggest there will be no electoral understanding? Difficult to say, but a recent opinion poll gave the BNP a decisive edge over the Jamaat. So BNP strategists may be thinking that the party should go it alone.
But public perception is something he will have to quickly deal with: his announcement that he will fund the party’s election campaign has raised eyebrows. In tandem with reports that he and other candidates have underreported their income, there is an issue that needs to be addressed without delay and in a credible manner.
Rahman has disclosed an annual income of 6.75 lakh Bangladeshi Taka, but the math doesn’t add up: his projected campaign spending is nearly nine times his total declared annual earnings.
Financial disclosures have been a longstanding problem in Bangladesh, especially with Tarique Rahman ’s family. Khaleda Zia’s wealth was often the subject of political controversy. In 2017, the Awami League alleged that the Zia family had invested nearly $12 billion across 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while revealing a much lower income.
The Jamaat, too, shares these discrepancies. While Ameer Shafiqur Rahman’s salary has been declared as Tk 3.6 lakh and his campaign expenditure will come from party funds, a Prothom Alo report quoting from his affidavit revealed that he owns a duplex house on 11.77 decimals of land. The acquisition value of the land and the house combined is shown as Tk 2.7 million.
Those familiar with the market believe that the current value of such a house would be no less than several crore taka, highlighting a discrepancy between actual and declared income.
In a post-Hasina Bangladesh that demands transparency and change, the affidavits with income declarations are a stark reminder that while Zia and Hasina are out, old patterns remain.
