Where do so many millionaires come from? Asks Nazrul Islam Khan

BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan has voiced concerns about the majority of millionaires among the ruling party candidates of the 12th national election and castigated the authorities for their inaction in verifying their sources of income.

“Where do so many millionaires in Bangladesh come from?” he, a member of BNP’s standing committee, asked while addressing a human chain on the premises of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Wednesday.

In its observation on Tuesday, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) described nearly 87 per cent of the Awami League candidates as millionaires (as per immovable price standards).

Referring to the TIB report, Nazrul Islam Khan said, “The newspapers reported that those running in the election are mostly millionaires. Where do so many millionaires come from?

"We fought the Liberation War against 22 families, and today, 2200 families have emerged…. Billions of taka have been looted from the banks; who are the looters? Doesn’t the government know them? Have the ability to catch them? But they do not do it.”

He pointed out the aftereffects of the financial irregularities, saying, “What is happening in the aftermath? The country is getting poorer as a result. What is shown in GDP is a big amount.”

The BNP leader noted that there is no alternative to establishing real democracy in the country in the spirit of the great Liberation War.

Describing the upcoming election as staged, he urged the people to prevent and boycott the polls. "If you cannot prevent (ballot) robbery, at least do not associate with robbers, do not cooperate in robbery. This is our request to you."

The Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), a pro-BNP platform of physicians, organised the programme under the theme ‘Boycott the dummy election, support the non-cooperation movement.’