Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs yesterday formed a sub-committee to find out perpetrators involved in making and purchasing the crests made of substandard materials to award foreign friends for their contribution during the war of liberation in 1971.
The three-member sub-committee led by Awami League lawmaker Afsarul Amin has been formed at a meeting of the standing committee at Sangsad Bhaban with its chairman AB Tajul Islam in the chair.
The standing committee came up with the decision following revelation of the scandalous act. The committee members expressed their resentment over the incident.The sub-committee has been asked to submit its report within a month with recommendations on nature of the punishment to the perpetrators.
Talking to reporters, AB Tajul Islam said the committee has taken the incident seriously.
“We have asked the sub-committee to identify perpetrators whoever were involved in the scandalous act. The incident has made us bow our heads in shame. They deserve only exemplary punishment, not mercy,” he said.
Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has reportedly found only around 2.36 grams of gold in place of the specified 11.64 grams and only an alloy of base metals instead of the supposed 350 grams of silver in each of the crests.
The committee chief said they asked the ministry to provide all sorts of assistance to the sub-committee to identify the perpetrators.
The two other members of the sub-committee are—Md Iqbalur Rahim and Golam Dastagir Gazi.
The committee recommended singing of national anthem at all the educational institutions including madrashas and English medium schools mandatory.
Committee members—Minister for Liberation War Affairs AKM Mozammel Haque, Iqbalur Rahim, Afsarul Amin, AKM Shajahan Kamal, Nurunnabi Chowdhury, Golam Dastagir Gazi, Ashek Ullah Rafiq, Swapan Bhattachariya and Quamrul Laila Joly attended the meeting. – Staff Reporter
