BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Friday accused Tulip Siddiq, former British Treasury Minister, of engaging in corruption despite her upbringing and education in the UK, attributing it to her familial ties with Bangladesh’s Sheikh Family.
“Tulip Siddiq grew up in London and studied there. It's unimaginable that an MP from England would engage in corruption, but her genes belong to Bangladesh's Sheikh family,” he told a discussion.
Even after studying the UK and becoming an MP, the BNP leader said Tulip could not cross the genetic line of her family. “That’s why the evidence of corruption against her is now coming to light,” Rizvi said.
The Agriculturists' Association of Bangladesh organised the programme at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) to mark the 45th martyrdom anniversary of ATM Khaled, the founding convener of the Bangladesh Agricultural University unit of Chhatra Dal.
Earlier, on January 14, Tulip Siddiq resigned from her post as British Treasury Minister following public scrutiny, after UK media revealed that she and her sister had received a free flat from associates of her aunt, the deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
There were also allegations that Tulip helped her family misappropriated up to £3.9 billion from the Russia-backed Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project.
Rizvi further alleged that Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and her niece Tulip embezzled a large sum of money by securing a deal with Russia for the Rooppur nuclear project.
He said many media outlets clearly reported that the money embezzled by members of the Sheikh family, including Tulip, as bribes, was withdrawn from a Malaysian bank.
The BNP leader alleged that Awami League leaders and workers plundered large sums of money in the name of development during Sheikh Hasina’s despotic rule.
He criticised India for providing shelter to such a deeply corrupt individual like Sheikh Hasina, who was responsible for the killing of many students and ordinary people in Bangladesh.
Rizvi also questioned Sheikh Hasina’s status in India, pointing out that both her passports, including the diplomatic one, had been cancelled.
