The ‘truth’ about the ‘house’

Published : 12 Dec 2010, 05:26 PM
Updated : 12 Dec 2010, 05:26 PM

In any war, as the saying goes, truth becomes the ultimate casualty. So it is no surprise that in the ongoing war of words over the household goods at Khaleda Zia's cantonment house, the real truth appears to have gone missing.

And no one knows exactly what items were found in her house and what she took away. Understandably, it was the responsibility of the Cantonment Board, which took control of the house after Begum Zia's eviction. So, amid the charge and counter-charge flying from both sides, people are at a loss as to whom to believe about what Begum Zia actually had in her house.

The current controversy also reflects utter lack of trust the people have in their political leadership.

Not surprisingly, that is perhaps what prompted BNP secretary general Khandker Delwar Hossain to counter prime minister Sheikh Hasina's statement in the parliament only a day after she gave a list of the items found in Khaleda's house, terming it as "utter lie, distasteful and far from the truth".

Khandker Delwar, of course, didn't provide any details of the household items except for the total number of rooms in the house, which he said are 12, not 47, as the prime minister has claimed.

But on other belongings, he gave no details. Even if we assume that the number of air conditioners, sofa sets and fridges—64, 74 and 17—provided by the prime minister is incorrect, then the obvious question is: what is correct.

It is hard to imagine that a sitting prime minister would give false statement in the parliament. Indeed, it would be a serious crime if she had lied and could be punished for committing perjury.

That said, even if we assume that Begum Zia had half the numbers of the said items in her house, it's a serious indictment on a public figure who claims to be the leader of the downtrodden.

It is unfathomable for a family of 10 (Khaleda, Tarique, Coco and their family members included) to have over 30 air conditioners, nearly 40 sofa sets and eight refrigerators.

I think it would be a good idea for any news outlet to find out how much electricity bill Begum Zia paid every month.

Begum Zia, on her part, is also responsible for keeping the controversy alive. It would have been appropriate on her part to come out publicly about the items she had in her house.

But the fact that it took three days and seven trucks and vans to cart off the items only suggest that there were lot of things.

General Zia, who came to be widely respected for personal integrity and modest living, must be turning in his grave.

There was another shocking revelation about the cantonment house. Ataur Rahman, a former director general of post office, wrote in daily Prothom Alo the other day that Khaleda Zia used to regularly charge rent for the house when she was prime minister between 1991 and 1996. This is an egregious violation of ethics and she should return all the money to the state coffer immediately.

The information appears to be true as he was then serving as a director at the PM office and used to handle the matter personally.

I'm not sure how long the charge and counter charge over the household goods would linger, but I suspect Begum Zia has reconciled to the fact that she won't be able to reclaim the house ever.

Given the implacable animosity between the two leading ladies of Bangladesh politics, I feel Sheikh Hasina would now move swiftly to demolish the house and build multi-storied buildings to accommodate the families of those army officers who were killed in the BDR mutiny.

And she would perhaps make sure the project is completed before her term ends in three years time. After all, it has become quite clear that the ruling party invariably loses power in a clean election largely because of their misrule, highhandedness and thuggery committed in office.

I would also urge Sheikh Hasina to voluntarily submit her own wealth statement in order for the public to know what she personally owns in terms of moveable and immovable properties including air conditioners, sofa sets and refrigerators.

At the same time, she should also make public the properties her sister, Sheikh Rehana, owns now that the opposition claims she has three houses in London.

This transparency is vital for public leaders in a democracy, especially for a country like Bangladesh. Otherwise, people will continue to have serious questions about their leaders' integrity. And such lingering doubts are not good for the leaders' own interest.

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Arshad Mahmud is a senior editor and Washington Correspondent for bdnews24.com.