& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Ministers say no political motive behind govt decision

Staff Correspondent
The cancellation of the allotment of BNP chairperson's cantonment house was neither politically motivated nor an act of revenge, claimed two ministers.
"As she [Khaleda] violated a number of conditions of the allotment, the government cancelled it." Commerce Minister Faruk Khan told The Daily Star at his ministry office yesterday.
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed yesterday also said the cancellation of the lease of ‘ Khaleda Zia's cantonment house was not a political move of the government rather it was done for the greater interest of the country and the people.
The Daily Star asked Faruk Khan whether it was done to take revenge against Khaleda as her government had cancelled allotment of two houses of the then leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina, now prime minister, and Hasina s sister Sheikh Rehana, soon after assuming power in 2doi. Faruk replied, "It is foot a tit for tat act It would have been so had we cancelled the allotment of her (Khaleda’s) Gulshan house. We have only removed her from an illegal possession."
He, however, said, "We did not behave like the way she did with us on assuming power after the 2001 elections. We are still very nice with her. We don’t want to behave like the way she did with us.
"On the 21st day of her (Khaleda’s) government, she cancelled allotment of the Gonobhaban, which was allotted to the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She (Khaleda) should remember what she had done."
Faruk said under the rules of the cantonment one cannot conduct political activities inside the cantonment. "Even Sheikh Hasina and I, while she (Hasina) was the leader of the opposition, were not allowed to see Humayun Azad when he was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital in cantonment on security grounds," clarified the minister
Tf our presence breaches security of the cantonment then why her carrying out political activities from there shouldn’t be construed as violation of cantonment rules?" said Faruk
Asked why the Awami League government of 1996-2001 did not take any steps to cancel the allotment, the commerce minister said, "Until then, she (Khaleda) did not do this kind activities there. She conducted political activities from that house between 2001 and 2006."
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said the government decided to cancel the allotment of Khaleda Zia’s cantonment house since the house was allocated to her illegally and unethically. He said the ministry of land is the owner ol die house and the Cantonment Board maintains it.
He said the house was used for political and business purposes, which go against cantonmentrules.
He told this to reporters after a courtesy meeting with an eight-member delegation of a Chinese organisation--Chinese People Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries- -yesterday afternoon
The law minister said a person cannot have two government houses along with other facilities at a time and receiving such facilities is unreasonable and unethical.
Even though he had said the government move was not politically motivated, tlic law minister mentioned that the BNP govern ment cancelled Sheikh Hasina’s allotment of Gonobhaban, winch bear the memories of Father ol the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his famih members, and Sheikh Rehana s allotment of a Dhanmondi house.
A police station has been set up at "Sheikh Rehana's house" in Dhanmondi and then prime minister Khaleda Zia inaugurated it, he said.
If the BNP government could exercise its powers, this government can make legal decisions too, he said. It was a very normal decision made for the greater interest of the county and the people, shafique added.
He said even HM Ershad, who had allocated the house to Khaleda Zia. said he would not have given the allotment if he knew Khaled would carry but political activities there.
Replying to a question m, BNP leader Moudud Ahmed’s claimed that there is a deed on the leasing out of the land to Khaleda Zia, Shafique said the deed is invalid since the allotment process was illegal