& 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

Padma Loan Revival

Mashiur refutes leave report

Rizvi leaves for US with WB mission; anti-graft body ready to sign deal with the donor

Staff Correspondent
Refuting reports that did the rounds throughout the day, prime minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman late last night said he was not on leave.
His denial came hours after sources in the government and the ruling Awami
League said the adviser had gone on leave to meet the World Bank1 s last condition for revival of the loan deal for Padma bridge.
Talking to the BBC Bangla service
around 10:30pm, Mashiur said, "This [the report] is not right. I have not gone on leave, nor have I been told anything in this regard from the prime minister’s end."
Referringto his talks with the WB and other donor agencies, he said, "They told me there was nothing against you.... But the inquiry will not be free of
influence if you are there."
Earlier in the evening, an AL leader close to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told this correspondent, "Yes, he [Mashiur] has gone on leave."
FROM PAGE 1
It may be mentioned, the government has just three days for revival of the loan deal with the WB, because co-financier Jica’s loan effectuation deadline ends on Friday.
Sources told The Daily Star the adviser had taken one-month's leave in the face of pressure from the top leaders of the AL, including its General Secretary and LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam.
The adviser submitted his leave application to Sheikh Hasina on Sunday evening, said officials in the Prime Minister's Officer.
The leave took effect yesterday and the government could extend it if needed, they added, preferringanonymity.
Taking a copy of Mashiur's leave application, prime minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi left Dhaka on Sunday night for Washington for talks with the WB about revival of the deal.
WB's Bangladesh Country Director Ellen Goldstein has also flown to Washington from Nepal on Sunday to attend the meeting at the bank's headquarters, according to the sources.
Before his departure,
Rizvi at a meeting with some top Economic Relations Department officials drafted a formal letter to be sent to the WB for reviving the loan.
After his name appeared in the media, Mashiur made it clear that he would not go taking responsibility of the alleged "corruption conspiracy" in the Padma bridge project.
He has all along maintained his innocence, but said he would go only if the prime minister asked him.
At a party meeting on Saturday night, Syed Ashraful requested Hasina to send Mashiur on leave. His request was unanimously supported by all the members of the party's CentralWorking Committee.
PMO Secretary Molla Wahiduzzaman said Mashiur did not join the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday.
The prime minister has already informed a number of secretaries that Mashiur would not attend the cabinet meetings from now on, sources in the PMO said.
The adviser, however, held an unscheduled meeting with Communications Minister Obaidul Quader and Bridge Division secretary at the communications minister's office around 12:45pm. They discussed the
future of the Padma bridge project.
In June, the WB cancelled its $1.2 billion loan deal citing "corruption conspiracy" in the project. The global lender said the government should meet three conditions, including sending Mashiur on leave, for revival of the agreement.
Two other conditions were removing Syed Abul Hossain, former communications minister who was later made ICT minister, and ensuring access of a WB monitoring team to the findings of the AntiCorruption Commission investigation into the alleged graft.
Abul has already gone and the government has also agreed to give the WB team access to the ACC findings.
The WB monitoring team would be able to start working with the ACC once the bank revives the loan deal, ACC Chairman Ghulam Rahman told reporters yesterday. “The commission has no objection to it and we hope there will not be any problem.”
Contacted, Obaidul Quader said the government wanted to start the construction of the 6.15km bridge this fiscal year.
The government would
welcome the WB funding but if the global lender finally does not offer assistance, the government would look for an alternative source of funding for the job, he added.