‘There is no office where bribe is not taken’

“People used to think a specific force was involved in bribery. But now, there is no such office where bribe is not taken,” said Jatiya Party’s (JaPa) MP Golam Kibria on Tuesday.

He said this at a general discussion on the proposed budget for 2023-24 fiscal in the Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament).

“The people who are not involved in bribery and corruption have become a minority now. They are now known as weak and fools,” he added.

The JaPa MP further said, “They (people who don’t take bribes) don’t have any work now. The kingpins do not take cash as bribes anymore. Rather, they take gold bars as bribes.”

Golam Kibria also claimed, “There are syndicates of these corrupted officials everywhere. Nothing can be done without money. These officials can never be found at their offices.”

Addressing the government, Golam Kibria said, “Find these kingpins. Why don’t the people in charge of finding irregularities find them, when we all know about them. They obviously have some knowledge about this. If they don’t, remove them and appoint the people who know. Recruit people, who will actually stop bribery and corruption.”

The JaPa MP said, “Begum Para was heard to be in Canada for so long. But now we are seeing that there is another ‘Begum Para’ in London as well. People usually think of the MPs whenever they think of Begum Para, which is not correct.”

“Almost 90 per cent of those who laundered money abroad and bought properties in the ‘Begum Paras’ are bureaucrats,” he claimed.

Golam Kibria further said, “The Chattogram Hill Tracts are an integral part of the country. Therefore, a large team of the Bangladesh Army should be sent to ensure public security and maintain law and order there.”

“At least  300,000 troops are needed there,” he insisted.