Abdur Rahman Bodi (left) and Shafiqul Islam Shimul. File photo
Bangladesh appears as a safe haven for MPs.
To enjoy unlimited immunity and freedom, one just needs to be an MP of the ruling party.
Take the latest example of Awami League MP Abdur Rahman Bodi who
again beat up a government official on Wednesday in his constituency in
Cox's Bazar. He punished Mostofa Minhaz, Ukhia upazila engineer, for not
attending an Upazila Parishad meeting.
The AL lawmaker has kept assaulting people in his constituency since
2009 immediately after he became an MP. School teachers, forest and bank
officials, a Road and Highway official, a freedom fighter and a lawyer
among many others were assaulted by him.
He had faced little trouble for these offences. The only reason is he is an MP of the ruling AL.
Bodi has built his kingdom in Cox's Bazar. He has appeared to be the
godfather of Yaba trade. He has been named in the list of Yaba smugglers
prepared by the home ministry. His three brothers, brother-in-laws and
some other relatives have also been listed as traders of the contraband
drugs.
He had just faced trouble for a case filed by Anti-Corruption
Commission for amassing wealth illegally and concealing information in
his wealth statement. For this he had once landed in jail in October
2014.
Take another latest example. AL lawmaker from Natore-2 Shafiqul Islam
Shimul snatched away “a criminal” from Rab custody immediately after
his arrest in Natore town on Tuesday night. A number of local AL leaders
and journalists witnessed the incident.
They yesterday said Shimul, also general secretary of Natore district
AL, and his men got into an altercation with Rab personnel, shouted at
them and then took away Redwan Sabbir in handcuffs. Sabbir, who gained
notoriety for his criminal activities in Natore, is wanted in at least a
dozen cases, according to local police and AL activists.
What Bodi and Shimul have done is no way uphold their image as MPs. Their activities rather undermined the dignity of MPs.
But what they have done is nothing new and surprising at all. Some of their former colleagues in previous years have done these.
Take some more examples. AL MP Golam Maula Rony, a ruling Awami
League MP, on July 20, 2013 mercilessly beat up two newsmen of
Independent TV.
Kamal Ahmed Majumder, an AL MP of the capital, in 2012 assaulted a
woman television journalist at Monipur High School and College at Mirpur
in the capital where she had gone to seek his comment on the school
authorities’ decision to charge admission fees way beyond the amount
fixed by the government. Kamal is chairman of the school’s managing
committee.
In Pabna, AL MP Golam Faruk Khandaker Prince openly adopted a stance
against the district administration in September 2010 when his alleged
demand for recruiting his party men in government service was not met by
the then deputy commissioner. Rebuffed, Jubo League and Chhatra League
men attacked the administration officials, including a female
magistrate, while the recruitment examinations were going on.
There is more. AL lawmaker Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shaon was sued over
the killing of party leader Ibrahim Ahmed in the capital in August 2010.
Local AL leader Ibrahim was reportedly shot with the MP’s licensed
pistol.
Policemen, who have gone to the extent of beating up opposition MPs and journalists, were also assaulted by the ruling AL MPs.
In Dhaka, AL MP Ilias Uddin Mollah assaulted an on-duty policeman on
June 30, 2010. The policeman filed a case against Ilias. He was
reelected an MP of the current parliament.
Another AL MP, Sheikh Afil Uddin of Jessore, assaulted the
officer-in-charge of a police station of his constituency in August
2010. He also became an MP of the current parliament.
And AL MP Captain (retd) Ghyas Uddin Ahmed in May 2012 opened fire on
a crowd to thwart an agitation against him in his constituency in
Mymensingh.
There are more examples. But no exemplary action has been taken
against any of those MPs. Rather, Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Golam Faruk
Khandker, Nurunnabi, Sheikh Afil, Ilias Mollah, and Bodi were re-elected
as MPs in the January 5 parliamentary elections.
So, AL MPs Bodi and Shimul need not be worried for their unruly behaviour.
Thing is different in UK, the birth place of Westminster model of
democracy. An MP there faces little restriction to carry out his
parliamentary duties. But s/he faces numerous legal restrictions in
carrying out his activities which are not linked to his/her
parliamentary jobs. There are laws, rules, code of conduct and
conventions imposing bar on MPs from behaving unruly and engaging in
dishonest activities.
In Bangladesh, our constitution and political culture however have
imposed numerous restrictions on MPs to do their parliamentary jobs. For
this the parliament remains dysfunctional. But they are hyperactive
outside of parliament and face little restrictions to carry out all
those works.
For this they just need to be MPs of the ruling party.
