Responding to Barakat would be beneath me: Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith finds it below him to respond to former Janata Bank chairman Abul Barakat who reportedly questioned his honesty and accused him of nepotism. When approached on Wednesday, an apparently irritated Muhith said, ‘I was busy the whole day with various programmes. I’ve heard that Barakat said things against me.’ Asked about his response, the minister said, ‘Replying to his allegations or questions would be beneath me. I said what I had to say on Tuesday.’ Barakat, who retired as the state-run bank’s chairman on Monday, claimed the minister had shut down the bank's CSR programme after his lobbying was ignored. Barakat, a Dhaka University teacher, on Wednesday questioned the minister’s honesty. Muhith, a finance minister for the third time, brushed off the allegations, saying ‘Barkat does not have the merit to question my honesty and patriotism,’ according to bdnews24.com.