Since coming to power, Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus has been setting one example of corruption after another by taking various benefits for his favour. From getting cases dismissed to tax waivers worth hundreds of crores of taka, from reducing government ownership to embezzling state fundsโhis personal interests have been given priority in everything. According to critics, this is a well-planned blueprint of corruption, where the people of the country and politicians have no place; rather, everything revolves only around Yunus’s own sugarcane collection.
Expatriates’ obstacles, Yunus withdraws
This selfishness was also reflected in his visit to the United States. While attending the UN General Assembly, he faced obstacles from expatriates. Local expatriates opposed his visit. However, he left safely with Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, but the leaders of the National Citizens Party (NCP) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were in trouble.
Tulip Siddiq: Bangladesh authorities resorting to false documents, evidence
Suspicion grows as Yunus takes BNP, Jamaat, NCP leaders to New York
Canadaโs travel advisory for Bangladesh exposes volatile situation
NCP Member Secretary and former leader of Gono Odhikar Parishad (GOP) Akhtar Hossain was egged on by expatriates. NCP leader Tasnim Zara and BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir faced similar resistance.
Selfish behaviour
Rashed Khan, general secretary of the GOP, , has raised the question of why politicians did not get security despite being in the entourage of the chief adviser. He wrote on Facebook: “Why did politicians not get security? Why did he (Yunus) and his officials leave with security like selfish people?”
Abidul Islam Khan, VP candidate of the Chhatra Dal-backed panel in the DUCSU elections, said that it is shameful for the head of government to leave the airport while leaving political leaders in an unsafe condition.
Sheikh Hasina condemns corruption as Grameen Telecom gets digital wallet license
Yunus’ unprecedented corruption
Nine notable steps that Yunus has taken for personal gain after coming to power are:
1. Dismissing all his cases.
2. Waiving taxes worth Tk666 crore.
3. Ensuring tax waiver for the next five years.
4. Reducing government ownership in Grameen Bank from 25% to 10%.
5. Approval of Grameen University for personal branding.
6. Establishing exclusive control over manpower export.
7. Permission to Grameen Telecom to launch a digital wallet.
8. Transfer of social security funds worth Tk700 crore to Grameen Trust.
9. Appointment of relatives and close associates in the administration.
Yunusโs aides are also angry with such selfish behaviour. France-based anarchist Pinaki Bhattacharya, one of the members of his so-called “rumour cell,” wrote: โProfessor Yunus will leave everyone alone like thisโwrite it down.โ His post makes it clear that even close circles have now distrusted Yunus.
The NCP is the one who has been hit the hardest by this incident. After the attack on Akhtar Hossain, the party has gone further back in politics. Md. Sarjis Alam, the chief organiser of the NCP in the northern region, warned: โWe will see how the vote goes without the Shapla symbol.โ
According to analysts, the protest of the expatriates in New York has proven that Bangladeshi politics is not limited to the country alone; the expatriates are also active and sensitive about it. This poses a big challenge to the international public relations of the government and political leaders.
NCP spokesperson Samantha Sharmin said in her Facebook post that Dr. Yunus is earning mandates by using parties for his own benefit. But after the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) and Jatiya Nagorik Committee, he has become strong by showing the political power of the NCP in his favour. But he has revealed his misdeeds by not showing the minimum decency to ensure the safety of his entourage, and more importantly, the leader of the July coup, Akhtar Hossain.
Political analysts believe that the NCP is planning to incite the student movement again after losing trust in Yunus. But this time, the people of the country will not fall into their trap.
They also say that although internationally respected, Dr. Yunus is now controversial in domestic politics. His impartial image is questioned by only arranging his own sugarcane, forgetting his entourage.
English