The self-proclaimed chief adviser to the illegal interim government, Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus, has been leading a series of foreign trips under the guise of official visitsโthe financial costs of which are huge and questionable.
His fantasy for free pleasure tours became clearer on his latest visit to the UK. In addition, those who used to magnify his works have now become silent. His advisers, who used to regularly criticise five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s foreign visits, are now silent.
This silence and ambiguity surrounding the latest visit to London by Yunus has become even more noticeable. The trip was huge in cost, but its results were almost zero.
On June 9, Yunus and his 38-member entourage arrived in London. They stayed four nights at one of the city’s most expensive hotels, The Dorchester. At that time, the bill for 37 rooms came to ยฃ210,325 (about Tk3.5 crore).
The chief adviser’s own room was the most expensiveโยฃ6,045, or about Tk10 lakh per night.
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Traditionally, the rationale for any official visit is determined on the basis of bilateral meetings, agreements, or diplomatic progress. However, it is known that no such formal activities took place on this visit. The main purpose of the visit was to receive Dr. Yunus’ personal award. His meeting with the BNPโs controversial leader, Tarique Rahman, on the last day of the visit was political or completely outside the scope of the official visit.
The most controversial has been the means of travel to the UK. Although national flag carrier Bangladesh Biman operates direct flights to London, Yunus and his companions travelled in first and business class on Emirates Airlines. Many people call this decision undesirable on the grounds of cost, dignity, and sense of responsibility.
With this, Yunus has made 11 foreign trips after taking office, most of which were uninvited and without any institutional results. Diplomats and experts are also questioning the impact of these trips on Bangladesh’s position in the international arena.
A section of civil society, economists and political scientists say that such expensive but fruitless trips are not justified when the country is facing a severe financial crisis in health, education and disaster management.
Meanwhile, immediately after coming to power, various organisations founded by Yunus have received government approvals and special privileges one after another.
These include the approval of Grameen University in Dhaka, the license for the export of manpower by Grameen Employment Services, and the permission to launch a digital wallet for Grameen Telecom.
In addition, there is a tax waiver for Grameen Bank and the reduction of the government’s shareholding in the bank from 25% to 10%. The cases against Yunus for violating labour laws and money laundering were quickly dismissed, raising questions about transparency.
Prominent figures say that this kind of benefiting of one’s own organisation and the dismissal of the case create a conflict of interest and increase the risk of losing public trust. On the other hand, Yunus’ supporters say that these approvals were withheld for a long time due to political vendettas, and now they have been approved following the rules.
On August 8, Yunus illegally seized power in Bangladesh. Everyone, including his supporters and the Advisory Council, has since begun to exaggerate his actions.
Shortly after coming to power in August, a video of Yunus’ car stuck in a traffic jam on the roads of chaotic Dhaka went viral on social media. The law and order in the country were very fragile at that time. In such a situation, he was seen waiting like a common man, breaking protocol.
Yunus’ supporters started exaggerating and showing this incident on social media. According to analysts, Yunus is trying to divert attention from the real questions by doing such activities.
Analysts say that Yunus had appeared as a vibrant โoptimism for changeโ to his supporters, but their hope is now being crushed by the reality that the Nobel laureate is using government power for personal gain.
English