Family, supporters brought 50 cars for Panchagarh rally, rented the rest with Tk3 lakh: Sarjis tells Tasnim
He, however, did not specify how the Tk3 lakh rental fee was cleared off
Sarjis Alam, chief organiser (North) of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has responded to Senior Joint Member Secretary of the party Dr Tasnim Jara regarding how his rallies with over 100 cars were financed and organised in Panchagarh.
"My family, relatives, friends, and many well-wishers from the district brought over half of the vehicles with their own initiatives. The expenses for those vehicles were not borne by us. For the remaining approximately 50 vehicles, we had to pay a rental fee of Tk6,000 each, totaling Tk3 lakh. This amount could have easily been paid by my family even 50 years ago," Sarjis said in a Facebook post this evening (25 March).
He, however, did not specify how the Tk3 lakh rental fee was cleared off.
Sarjis had flown yesterday to Panchagarh, his home district, via Saidpur and held street rallies in various upazilas of the border district with the vehicles. Videos of the rallies – with the large motorcade – prompted many questions.
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Tasnim, in an open letter to Sarjis, published on her Facebook page today (25 March), said, "You had said publicly a few days ago, 'I actually have no money at the moment. I am borrowing money from people. This is the reality. I don't even have a wallet in my pocket.'"
"In that context, it is natural for people to have questions about how such a big event was possible – how it was financed and managed," Tasim said.
In response to which, Sarjis also wrote, "And when I returned to my area, I never imagined that so many cars and so many people, along with their hopes and love, would be waiting for me and supporting me…I believe no one else, but only my grandfather has left enough for me to run my election campaign."
Sarjis wrote in his post, "The first thing that needs to be removed from our thoughts, ideologies, and mindset is the assumption that someone new to national politics means that their family is helpless, penniless, and without any support. Just because leaders of the Awami League engaged in extortion and looting in the past, it does not mean that others who do the same will act in the same manner. Just because I don't have the financial ability to spend several lakh at this moment, it doesn't mean that my family and relatives are incapable of doing so."
He further said political cultures of no two districts in Bangladesh are entirely the same, adding, |Therefore, what I see in my constituency cannot be compared to other constituencies."
The political culture of Bangladesh must change, he said. "This is essential. But until the common people change their way of thinking, if you try to implement new ideas directly, you will gradually become irrelevant."
"If you [Tasnim] announce your candidacy today, countless people from the constituency will approach you tomorrow with various demands…They will only think about their own interests."
