Pirojpur case proves govt controls judiciary: Fakhrul

Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday said that the Pirojpur episode had proved that the government was controlling the judiciary.

He made the comment a day after a judge in Pirojpur was stand-released after cancelling bail petitions of a former MP of the ruling party and his wife in graft cases and securing bail by the MP and his wife from another court within hours of rejecting the bail prayers.

Talking to reporters at the party’s central office at Naya Paltan before going to  appear before a Dhaka court, Fakhrul said, ‘We have been saying that the government is controlling the judiciary. This is its proof. The court was forced to accept bail prayers after Pirojpur Awami League president was ordered to be sent to jail in graft cases lodged by Anti-Corruption Commission.’

‘The incident proved that there is no rule of law in the country. It once again proved the fact that the judiciary is not independent here,’ he said.

On Tuesday, Pirojpur district and sessions judge Abdul Mannan passed an order to send former AL MP AKM Awal and his wife Laila Parvin to jail rejecting their bail prayers in three graft cases filed by the ACC in 2019.

As local AL leaders and activists and lawyers loyal to the party started demonstrations on the court premises protesting against the order, the government stand released judge Abdul Mannan and made joint district and sessions judge Nahid Nasrin as the acting district and sessions judge of Pirojpur a few hours later.

The acting district and sessions judge later granted the couple bail for two months accepting their review petition.

Asked for his comments on AL general secretary Obaidul Quader’s criticism for raising question about Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming Dhaka visit to attend the Mujib birth centenary celebrations, Fakhrul said that they did not want to attach importance to Obaidul’s comments.

He said that there was no relation between Narendra Modi and Mujib birth centenary celebrations.

‘We have talked about the communal divisions and attacks in Modi’s country over their National Register of Citizens. Political parties and others in Bangladesh were aggrieved over it and expressed their reactions over the issue,’ he said.

‘Against the backdrop, we questioned about the decency of his visit to Bangladesh at this time,’ he said.

Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen on Sunday said that the Modi was likely to arrive Dhaka on March 17 to attend the Mujib’s birth centenary celebrations.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net