Terming the cabinet decision about Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus unprecedented, BNP leader and senior lawyer Rafiqul Islam Miah on Thursday said the government has taken the move being envious of his success.
“The cabinet decision about Dr Muhammad Yunus is unprecedented in the world history. The cabinet decision about a person like Dr Yunus is painful,” he told a human chain programme in front of the National Press Club.
Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sangskritik Foundation (BJSF), a pro-BNP body, arranged the programme protesting the ‘pernicious campaign’ against Dr Yunus and demanding an end to the government’s interference in Grameen Bank.
On August 2, the cabinet approved a proposal for amending the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983. It also asked the Banking and Financial Institution Division to inform it in consultation with the Bangladesh Bank how much salary and allowances Dr Muhammad Yunus, the former Managing Director of Grameen Bank, had withdrawn after his 60 years of age.
It also directed the Banking and Financial Institution Division to be sure whether the withdrawal of those salary and allowances was done legally.
Directives were also given to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) whether there was any evidence of tax evasion in case of Dr Muhammad Yunus’ foreign currency income shown as wage earners income.
Reacting to the cabinet decision, Rafiqul Islam said the government is tarnishing the image of the nation by taking such illogical steps against a personality of international repute.
He also asked the government to refrain from such heinous attempt to defame Yunus and withdraw the cabinet decision. Or else, he warned, the government will have to face a dire consequence for it. Former BNP deputy minister Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu, party central leader Khairul Kabir Khokan and Jubo Dal president Moazzem Hossain Alal, among others, spoke at the programme chaired by BJSF president Humayun Kabir Bepari.

Source : UNB