Former minister Khandaker Mosharraf remains absent from parliament, constituency

After being driven out from local politics, Faridpur-3 constituency’s lawmaker Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain has become inactive in his parliamentary duty too. The former powerful minister is now the president of the parliamentary committee for local government, rural development and cooperative ministry. The committee has not held a meeting in the last eight months.

Khandaker Mosharraf was absent in the last three sessions of parliament. The man who once was all powerful in Faridpur Awami League's politics, went to his constituency only twice in the last two and half years. As his absence rendered the parliamentary committee ineffective, some development activities of his constituency were also stalled.

Khandaker Mosharraf was elected to the parliament for the first time in 2008 from Awami League. He became expatriate welfare and overseas employment minister in 2009. Mosharraf established his unparalleled supremacy in Faridpur AL’s politics since then. His close aides swayed control over all the tender business of various government development activities, engaged in extortion and land grabbing and amassed huge illegal wealth.

They would flex their muscles so much that they would pick up anyone at their will, beat them up and harass them. Two siblings named Sazzad Hossain alias Barkat and his brother Imtiaz Hassan alias Rubel formed two gangs and would lead all the criminal activities. Mosharraf Hossain and his brother Mohtesham Hossain Babar brought the Barkat-Ruble brothers into politics.

Barkat-Rubel brothers were arrested on 7 June 2020 in connection with attacking Faridpur AL president Subal Chandra Saha’s house on 16 May that year.

Mosharraf was driven out of local politics following that incident. Police arrested his brother Khandaker Mohtesham Hossain in a money laundering case on 8 March. Within a few days, Khandaker Mosharraf became completely inactive from parliamentary proceedings. Later in last April Khandaker Mosharraf went to Switzerland.  

Parliament secretariat sources said the parliamentary standing committee of the LGED ministry held only two meetings this year. The last meeting was held on 13 March. According to the parliament’s rules of procedure, the parliamentary committee should hold at least one meeting a month.

The parliament committees are vested with examining any bill from the relevant ministries, reviewing the activities of the relevant ministries or investigating any allegation of irregularity.

The committee’s president has the power to call a meeting. The rules of procedure said the meeting would be held as fixed by the chairman.

Sources said the meeting of the LGED parliamentary committee could not be held due to the absence of its president. If a committee does not hold meetings due to any reason, the speaker can ask the secretary of the parliament secretariat to call a meeting but such a practice is usually not followed.

Jatiya Party’s lawmaker Moshiur Rahman is a member of the parliamentary committee for local government, rural development and cooperatives. He told Prothom Alo that he does not know why the committee did not hold a meeting for so long. The president's absence can be a reason behind that.

He said some problems arise when the committee does not hold meetings regularly and steps should be taken to hold the meeting.

Parliament secretariat sources said Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain last attended the 17th session of the eleventh national parliament on 6 April. Three more sessions including the budget session were held since then but he missed all. Mosharraf has not been attending the parliament session for 31 working days.

Mosharraf was elected as a lawmaker for the second time in 2014 and became the local government minister. He was elected again in 2018 but failed to become a minister this time.  Mosharraf, however, was made the president of the parliamentary committee.

Police arrested then president of Faridpur AL Sazzad Hasan Barkat and his brother Faridpur Press Club president Imtiaz Hasan Rubel conducting a special drive at Khandaker Mosharraf’s house in Faridpur.  Mosharraf moved to Dhaka on 9 June, two days after the drive. He went to Faridpur and stayed for one night on 14 July that year and again on 20 February 2021 to attend janaza of his aunt. He was not seen in Faridpur since then. He has no standings in Faridpur politics now.

Faridpur Sadar upazila AL’s president and upazila chairman Abdur Razzak Molla is known as pro-Mosharraf politician.

Razzak told Prothom Alo that although he is branded as a pro-Mosharraf politician, there was no one who would not go to him.

Mosharraf’s younger brother Mohtesham Hossain, Rubel-Barkat and personal assistant AHM Foad are behind the bars in a money laundering case. After Barkat-Rubel duo were arrested, Faridpur-4 lawmaker Mojibur Rahman alias Nixon Chowhdury in various political rallies said Mosharraf had become a monster.

Prothom Alo recently contacted Mosharraf over the phone. Mosharraf said he is now staying in Geneva at his daughter’s house and undergoing treatment for diabetes and blood pressure.

Mosharraf said he would return after completion of his treatment and claimed that he is discharging all his duties from abroad.

Asked if he would contest in the next general election, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said, “I don’t want to get harassed at this age of 85. There is no healthy environment for politics in Faridpur. I would not contest in the next election. But I want to be with all. I’ve even fixed the place of my grave. I would live in Faridpur if you let me, otherwise, I can live in Dhaka. But does anybody have the power to drive me out?”

Local sources said the fall of Khandaker Mosharraf, his brother and associates has brought an environment of relief in Faridpur’s politics. Still, the inactivity of the lawmaker also begets some setbacks.

AL leader Abdur Razzak told Prothom Alo that the development works of the constituency had been stalled due to the absence of the local lawmaker. The Tepakhola lake project was not implemented. Also, special allocations for the lawmaker lie idle in zila parishad and LGED.