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Generals in white paper fuels furore in BNP

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Inclusion of names of five top army officials in the white paper for receiving Tk 80 lakh as special allocations against projects has sparked off furore in the ranks of the ruling BNP.
The army top brasses including the current army chief received the funds for projects in their respective hometowns from the Upazila Parishad Development Assistance Fund.
Party sources said most of the BNP policymakers and ministers have been dismayed at the inclusion of the names since, as they view, there was nothing irregular or of corrupt nature in the fund allocation process.
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia herself also expressed 'deep anguish' over the issue. She is learnt to have rebuked the officials concerned at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for the 'mistake'.
Sources said the prime minister later called the army chief to her office, who briefed Khaleda about the fund allocations.
Thereafter, the army headquarters issued a press statement to 'end the controversy' raised over inclusion of names of the army officials in the white paper. Sources said the army statement was issued according to Khaleda's advice.
They said no ministers, policymakers and even the prime minister herself were briefed on the content of the white paper before its release.
According to the 3rd volume of the white paper on the alleged graft,
irregularities and abuse of power by the Awami League government published on May 3, 36 individuals including five army generals received special fund allocations.
The five generals are Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Harun-or-Rashid (Tk 25 lakh), former chief of army staff Lt. Gen (Retd) Mustafizur Rahman (Tk. 20 lakh), Major Gen. Jibon Kanai Das (Tk 15 lakh), Major Gen. Nazrul Islam (Tk 10 lakh) and Major Gen. Masudur Rahman (Tk 10 lakh).
PMO sources said a number of policymakers and senior ministers told the prime minister that 'the defence is always a sensitive area and that it was a major wrong decision' by the government to make public the names of the five generals.
They said the prime minister agreed with the views of her policymakers and then called her Political Secretary Haris Chowdhury, who released the white papers, and asked him to explain why she was not briefed on the content of the white paper prior to
its release. She reportedly reprimanded him.
PMO sources said the political secretary told the PM that he was not aware of the content of the white paper as he received sealed copies. He blamed the mistake on the 'special cell' created to prepare the white paper.
However, sources at the PMO said the documents were available with many officials at least a week before their formal release.
Senior BNP leaders are also irked as they were kept out of the scene while releasing the documents. Some of them also told the PM that the white papers should be released by a senior cabinet member for their credibility.
Some ministers and leaders also requested the prime minister to probe into the allegations of corruption brought against Haris Chowdhury by a journalist as the political secretary failed to give any satisfactory reply on the charges. The reporter charged the political secretary for his alleged involvement in doctoring names in the white paper.