TIB slams Minister Rabiul's remarks on transport 'extortion', demands statement withdrawal
'Unless the government wants this to be taken as a blatant example of how the ruling party may turn its anti-corruption pledge into eyewash, the minister must withdraw his statement immediately and be held to account,' says TIB chief
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman has sharply criticised Road Transport and Bridges Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam over his comments that money collected from transport operators on the basis of "mutual understanding" should not be termed extortion.
"The minister's interpretation of extortion directly contradicts the strong anti-corruption pledges repeatedly announced by members of the government, including the minister himself, as well as the ruling party's election manifesto and the head of government's recent address to the nation delivered less than 48 hours earlier," he told The Business Standard today (19 February).
"Unless the government wants this to be taken as a blatant example of how the ruling party may turn its anti-corruption pledge into eyewash, the minister must withdraw his statement immediately and be held to account," he added.
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The TIB chief's remarks came after the road transport and bridges minister, speaking at a press briefing at the Secretariat today, argued that money collections within the road transport sector cannot be described as extortion if they are made through "mutual understanding."
"What is described as road transport extortion, I do not see it that way. There are owners' associations and workers' associations; they spend the money for their welfare. It is like an unwritten rule," the minister said in response to a question from journalists.
"Extortion, to me, is when someone does not want to pay but is compelled to do so," he added.
Minister Rabiul also acknowledged that influence often plays a role in such practices, saying owners or groups with greater influence tend to dominate. He further noted that the workers' wing of the ruling party typically holds sway when its party is in power.
"However, we do not have the opportunity to see it as extortion because they are doing it on the basis of understanding," he added.
Reacting to the remarks, Iftekharuzzaman said, "Irrespective of the way he has tried to defend extortion, he has clearly failed to consider that he is also justifying the passing of the burden of such extortion and collusive corruption on the people."
He added that the controversy underscores the urgent need for the ruling party to reform and cleanse itself in order to prevent what he described as the reopening of the floodgates to corruption, a problem that people who have just voted the party back to power have suffered from for too long.
