Parliament vs. ACC
THE nation has been observing with growing concern that the parliament and the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC), the two august bodies of the country, have entangled themselves in a row, erroneously interpreting their jurisdictions, which is indecent indeed.
The parliamentary standing committee on public undertakings on April 12, accused the immediate past chief of the ACC, its acting chief, the other incumbent commissioner and one of its former secretaries for non-compliance with a legislative summon.
The JS body sent a letter to the ACC on April 7, asking its acting chairman and the commissioner to appear before the committee on April 12. The committee also questioned the legality of some of ACC's move under the regime of the immediate past caretaker government.
But the ACC had refused to appear before the committee saying, such summon is beyond the jurisdiction of the committee. In a letter sent to the JS body on April 8 the ACC said, "Such enquiry by summoning the commissioners in person does not fit in the prevailing legal and administrative norms and protocol."
The ACC chief Hasan Mashud Chowdhury, who travelled each corner of the country to raise repulsion against corruption, resigned from his post saying that there was no need to spell out the reasons of his resignation. Obviously, it was understood that he was under considerable political pressure to do so.
Hasan Mashud took over as the chairman of the ACC a couple of weeks after the emergency was declared on January 11, 2007. Within a few days after he took over, he publicly declared crusade against corruption, which was welcomed by the people from all walks of life.
One may dislike the way Hasan Mashud carried out the anti-corruption drive against the political bigwigs and their family members. But surely he succeeded in bringing the misdeeds of some political bigwigs to public and to explode the myth that they are always out of reach of the hands of law.
The people are quite aware of the fact that, the ACC is now facing the ire of some MPs who were targeted by the ACC in its largely failed anti-graft drive during the emergency period.
The JS body met the speaker of the parliament on June 2 and requested him to take the necessary legal steps to make former ACC chief, its acting chief and the other commissioner to appear before the committee. Commenting on the assistance sought, the speaker however, said he would take a decision in line with the rules and regulations after the committee applies to him in writing.
The rigid stance of the JS body on taking legal actions against former ACC chief, its acting chief and the other commissioner for refusing to appear before the committee, speaks volumes of seeking retaliation while Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, the chairman of the standing committee on public undertaking, was awarded punishment in ACC's case and was released on bail.
Past experience teaches one that interference by the political class, particularly those in power, often makes a corruption watchdog an instrument to harass the opponent.
Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that, a corruption watchdog like the ACC must be legally empowered to operate independently without interference and influence of any state's organs to make it able to tackle high-level corruption.
The fundamental problem that relates to corruption in Bangladesh is the dominance of the vested interests irrespective of changes in the power matrix. The remedy was to start the cleaning drive from the top tiers. But the ACC, despite making some desperate attempts for combating corruption, could not succeed for lack of legal support.
The conscious citizens of the country earnestly hope that the mud-slinging between the ACC and the parliamentary standing committee would end soon and the government would ensure that the ACC remains active to fulfill the high hopes that it had raised to cut corruption drastically from public life. Otherwise, it may send a wrong signal both at home and abroad that some quarters in the government are set to subdue the ACC.
In the opening session of the 9th parliament, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on February 4 told the parliament that the ACC should be reconstituted to ensure its own accountability. Yes, a government agency, no matter how powerful it is, can not be unaccountable. But it must be accountable to a highest body of the state.
If the ACC has acted beyond the law and the JS body has got such allegations against the ACC, it is only fitting to send the allegations to the president for legal action. The president may send it to the Supreme Judicial Council, if he deems it fit for taking action.
A corruption watchdog such as the ACC empowered by an act of parliament to operate without any interference and influence must not be treated like any other government functionaries.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments