Info minister gave misleading statements being confused about report on candidates' assets: TIB

Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, being confused about candidates' assets, gave out misleading statements, the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said today.

In a statement, the organisation said, "It is not the TIB, but the information minister who is deliberately creating misleading fabrications and baseless falsehoods." 

Earlier on 26 December, the TIB published an analysis revealing that 571 candidates across various parties and independents declared movable assets worth a minimum of Tk1 crore. Among them, 18 possessed assets amounting to Tk100 crore or higher. 

Coming down on the TIB report, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud on Wednesday (27 December) said the report is conflicting and motivated.

"The price of one katha land in rural areas is about Tk20 lakh and five katha land is Tk1 crore. There is no land less than Tk1 crore in Dhaka and Chattogram. So, there is no scope to mislead the people by publishing such reports," he said.

The TIB, in turn, urged the minister to refrain from such conduct, deeming it incompatible with the responsibilities of a government official holding such a significant position.

Referring to the information minister's remarks, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "The honourable minister, in his remarks on the TIB, attempted to incorporate the value of immovable property into his misleading definition of a 'millionaire' candidate. 

"However, it is essential to note that the TIB's analysis solely considered movable assets such as cash, bank deposits, shares, savings certificates, and gold.

"Referring to the value of land, a house, or a flat is not reasonable here. We can assume that he either does not understand or intentionally disregards the distinction between movable and immovable assets."

Scrutinising data related to the candidates' personal belongings submitted to the Election Commission in their affidavits, the TIB found that the prevalence of candidates with movable assets worth Tk1 crore is notably higher in the upcoming election compared to previous ones, with the count being 274 in 2008, 202 in 2014, and 552 in 2018.

According to TIB, approximately 21.20% of the candidates possess assets ranging from Tk1 crore to Tk10 crore, 4.62% have assets worth between Tk10 crore and Tk50 crore, 1.07% own assets valued between Tk50 crore and Tk100 crore, and an additional 1.07% have assets exceeding Tk100 crore.