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Nagorik Committee Meets
NBR
Nagorik
Committee
2006,
formed
as
part
of a
civil
society
initiative
for
accountable
development,
discussed
yesterday
with
high
officials
of
the
National
Board
of
Revenue
(NBR)
ways
to
prevent
use
of
undeclared
money
in
the
next
general
election.
A
five-member
delegation
of
the
committee
met
NBR
Chairman
Khairuzzaman
Chowdhury
and
urged
him
to
take
steps
so
that
the
candidates
are
required
to
get
their
wealth
statements
certified
by
NBR
before
submitting
them
to
the
Election
Commission
(EC).
As
an
alternative
they
suggested
that
NBR
should
take
an
initiative
to
have
access
to
the
wealth
statements
submitted
to
EC,
to
scrutinise
them.
NBR
Member
ASM
Zahir
Mohammad
was
present
during
the
discussion.
The
committee
delegation
also
suggested
that
NBR
should
take
a
co-ordinated
effort
to
monitor
use
of
undeclared
money
in
the
general
election.
Former
finance
minister
also
joint-convener
of
the
committee
M
Syduzzaman
led
the
delegation
that
included
joint-convener
Laila
Kabir,
former
member
of a
care
taker
government
ASM
Shahjahan,
former
attorney
general
Mahmudul
Islam
and
eminent
economist
Dr
Debapriya
Bhattachariya.
Responding
to
the
delegation's
call
the
NBR
chairman
said
they
are
ready
to
take
such
initiatives
if
the
EC
wishes.
"Then
NBR
would
form
a
task
force
and
scrutinise
the
wealth
statements
of
the
major
candidates
in
each
constituency,"
he
said.
At
least
ten
candidates
in
each
constituency
could
be
under
such
a
scrutiny,
he
observed.
Regarding
procurement
of
expensive
cars
by
the
members
of
parliament
under
the
government's
duty
free
facilities,
the
NBR
chairman
informed
the
delegation
that
the
board
already
checked
some
cases
and
collected
revenues
after
detecting
anomalies.
"We
discussed
how
to
reduce
influence
of
black
money
in
the
general
elections,"
M
Syduzzaman
told
journalists
after
the
meeting.
He
said
influence
of
black
money
could
be
reduced
by
implementing
existing
laws.
"We
think
if
NBR,
ACC
(anti-corruption
commission)
and
EC
work
in
close
collaboration
in
good
faith,
we
can
substantially
reduce
the
flow
of
black
money
in
the
upcoming
general
election,"
said
Dr
Debapriya
Bhattachariya,
member-secretary
of
the
committee.
He
said
the
delegation
and
NBR
officials
discussed
the
possibility
of
cancelling
candidacies
if
inconsistencies
are
found
between
the
wealth
statements
submitted
to
the
EC
and
NBR.
The
27-member
Nagorik
Committee
was
formed
for
preparing
a
vision
for
Bangladesh
and
to
pursue
honest
and
competent
candidates
in
the
next
general
election.
The
committee
was
formed
with
joint
initiatives
of
non-government
think
tank
Centre
for
Policy
Dialogue,
The
Daily
Star
and
the
daily
Prothom
Alo.
The
committee
will
also
hold
such
dialogues
with
the
Anti-corruption
Commission
and
Election
Commission.
The
delegation
also
suggested
making
it
mandatory
to
submit
wealth
statements
and
descriptions
of
life
styles
along
with
the
tax
returns
of
those
who
would
compete
in
elections
of
public
representatives.
The
NBR
chairman
underscored
the
need
for
registration
of
political
parties
and
audit
of
party
expenditures
for
bringing
transparency
in
the
general
election.
There
should
be a
public
demand
for
an
end
to
harvesting
indirect
benefits
by
the
elected
officials
while
in
power,
he
told
the
delegation.
Copied from
The Daily Star website
(Tuesday, May 09,
2006) |
