Bangladesh News

Detained former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday demanded that her detained two sons are sent abroad for proper treatment for the sake of their lives.

Describing the proposed budget as “anti-people”, she said the caretaker government has no right to announce a budget.

A caretaker government also has no authority to impose new taxes in the budget as this can be done only when there is parliament, Khaleda said during the hearing on charge framing in the Gatco corruption case yesterday.

She also asked the government to lift the state of emergency and hold parliamentary polls soon.

The Special Court dealing with the Gatco case deferred the hearing on charge framing against Khaleda, her youngest son Arafat Rahman Koko and 22 others until June 16 following a defence petition.

During the hearing, Khaleda said, “According to the constitution, a caretaker government can only do routine work; it cannot make any policymaking decision.

“Moreover, this caretaker government has been in power violating the constitution, so it has no right to announce the budget,” BNP Secretary General and Khaleda’s counsel Khandaker Delwar Hossain quoted her as saying.

“Article 83 of the constitution says only parliament can impose taxes on the people, not any non-elected government,” Khaleda said.

In their petition, the defence counsels told the court that they received relevant papers and documents of the case yesterday morning and could not consult their clients about them.

Koko’s counsel barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon also filed a petition for sending Koko abroad for treatment, saying he has been in hospital since arrest and despite having been under treatment, his condition is rather deteriorating day by day.

He said Koko is “physically unfit” to face the trial. “The law does not approve putting an unfit accused in the dock for trial,” he said.

Khaleda’s counsel Abdur Rezzaque Khan prayed to the court for adjourning the proceedings of the case, saying trial cannot be conducted against any sick person keeping them in the dock as they “cannot conceive what is going on in the court and instruct their lawyers accordingly from time to time during trial”.

Khandaker Delwar urged the court to give orders allowing Khaleda’s ailing sons–Tarique Rahman and Koko–to go abroad for better treatment as the government-constituted medical board suggested sending them abroad for treatment.

To strengthen his argument, Delwar referred to the court order that exempted detained former premier and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina from appearing in person before the court during trial proceedings.

Opposing the defence, Public Prosecutor Golam Hafiz told the court that they had not received any such petition for sending Koko abroad from the defence through the required legal process. He said the prosecution has no objection regarding Koko’s treatment.

Khaleda, Koko and other accused in the case were produced before the Special Court on the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises amid tight security as the court resumed at 11:20am.

Koko was taken to the court by an ambulance from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University at 10:35am.

Khaleda embraced her son when he was produced before the court at 11:20am on a wheelchair with the help of his doctor. But Koko fell ill within a few minutes. He was taken out of the courtroom at 11:24am and brought back to hospital.

Newsmen from different print and electronic media were not allowed to talk to Khaleda.

But the BNP chairperson flashed a smile after hearing the news about the process of releasing Sheikh Hasina at the behest of the government.

Later, talking to journalists, Delwar said there is “pressure” on Khaleda for going abroad along with her son, which is “illegal and unjust”.

Seventeen accused including former LGRD minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, former health minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, former land minister M Shamsul Islam, former agriculture minister MK Anwar, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami of Jamaat-e-Islami were produced before the court.