Ishwardi Correspondent: They planted a tree sapling in the yard of RRP Feedmill while returning after a meal and rest. 11 Members of Parliament, including the Deputy Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad and Member of Parliament for Pabna-1 Constituency Shamsul Haque Tuku, had lunch at a Jamaat leader’s house in Ishwardi, Pabna. Awami League leaders and activists have fallen into an embarrassing situation in this incident.
This lunch was organized on Wednesday (July 26) afternoon at the house of Amir Ghulam Azam of Pabna Ishwardi Municipality Jamaat. At that time, the Deputy Speaker was accompanied by 11 Members of Parliament from the reserved women’s seat and local Member of Parliament Nuruzzaman Biswas. According to a press release from the National Parliament Secretariat, Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque visited the nuclear power project under construction at Rooppur in Ishwardi on Wednesday morning. He visited Units 1 and 2 of the project area. Engineers said that the civil work could be completed in 2023 and the other works by November 2024.
Members of Parliament Nuruzzaman Biswas, Shaheen Akhtar, Khaleda Khanam, Shireen Ahmed, Jinnatul Bakiya, Basanti Chakma, Shamsun Nahar, Nargis Rahman, Monira Sultana, Nadira Yasmin, Ratna Ahmed, Salma Chowdhury, Selina Islam, and Dorothy Rahman joined the project inspection led by Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku. Local people and eyewitnesses said that after visiting Rooppur Nuclear Project on Wednesday afternoon, they went to the residence of one of the owners of RRP Shilpa Group and Amir Ghulam Azam of Ishwardi Town Jamaat in the Islampur (Bhootergari) area of Iswardi Town. They also planted a sapling in the yard of RRP Feedmill while returning after eating and resting there.
However, relatives of the Jamaat leader said that the Deputy Speaker is their relative. After that, they left to attend the women’s Awami League rally at Circuit House in Pabna district town. And the Deputy Speaker informed me that I was in the dark about the matter and said that it was the responsibility of the local MP to organize their food. Pabna District Jamaat Secretary Iqbal Hossain confirmed Ghulam Azam’s party identity. He said, ‘We participate in social events where state MPs and ministerial-level people can come. There is nothing wrong with that. When asked about this, Abul Kalam Azad, general secretary of the Ishwardi Upazila Awami League, said, “The owners of RRP Group are four brothers, Golam Azam, Mansoor Alam, Monirul Alam, and Azmat Alam.” I also went because the Deputy Speaker was invited. But this is not a political event. So it is embarrassing to comment on the matter. Ghulam Azam tried several times on his mobile phone to find out about this, but it was not possible to speak.
However, Rafiqul Alam, director of RRP Group and nephew of Ghulam Azam, said, “Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque is my uncle. MPs, including him, came to our homes and businesses on our invitation. They have rested after having lunch. Meanwhile, a storm of criticism has started over lunch and the rest of the Deputy Speaker at the Jamaat leader’s house with so many MPs. Ishwardi Municipal Jubo League President Alauddin Biplab said, “Government MPs had no place to eat.” I had to eat at the Jamaat leader’s house. This is shameful.
When District Awami League president Rezaul Rahim was asked in this regard, he said, “I do not know the matter.” There is nothing to say. Member of Parliament of Pabna-4 Constituency (Ishwardi-Atgharia) Nuruzzaman Biswas said, “The travel and food of the members of Parliament have been managed by the National Parliament. It was on their invitation that I visited the Rooppur project. I did not go there, even though I was invited by the RRP group. I am coming to Dhaka for urgent work.
The Deputy Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad, Shamsul Haque, did not pick up the call to inquire about this. However, he told the local journalists that the food was organized by the local parliamentarians upon their arrival. He is well aware of this.
