Govt not influencing labour cases against Yunus, says Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Tuesday people and countries expressing concern over the labour law case against microcredit guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to look into the allegations while stating that her government has no influence over the legal proceedings, reports bdnews24.com.
"If a case is filed by workers, do we have the power to dismiss it?" the prime minister asked at a media briefing. "The law will take its own course."
"In our country, we do not discuss ongoing cases because the matter is sub-judice. The judiciary is completely independent. We cannot interfere in its work," she said.
Hasina called upon those who had raised questions about the case to look into the matter themselves.
"If they are so concerned, they should send experts to check the documents and papers themselves and see whether there were any irregularities."
According to Bangladesh's labour law, 5 percent of a company's profits must be invested in labour welfare, the prime minister noted.
"If someone sues because of any issues, we are not responsible for it. We did not file a case."
She urged those complaining to send legal experts to scrutinise the proceedings and see if there is any injustice.
"If someone is caught evading taxes, then the tax has to be paid," she said.
Hasina asked whether the US and the UK celebrated those who evaded taxes.
The prime minister also said that if an expert is sent to look into the matter, many other things may emerge that would not have otherwise.
She asked how the managing director of a government bank was bringing in millions of dollars from abroad.
"Has anyone asked about where this money came from? Did they? No. But if a politician had done it, what would have happened?" "If one of their favourites is corrupt, they treat it as if they did nothing wrong."
Bangladesh operates under the rule of law, and the law will follow its course, she said.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said Bangladesh has an independent judicial process and the court will take decisions based on evidence regarding Prof Muhammad Yunus.
"They can observe the (legal) process," he told reporters regarding those who wrote a letter in favour of the Nobel laureate.
The state minister wanted to know whether there is any instance in the world where allegations against a person cannot be investigated.