Why PM so soft about Biman chairman, wonders BNP

Criticising the government for not taking action against Biman chairman Jamal Uddin Ahmed despite his alleged involvement in various irregularities, including gold smuggling, BNP on Monday wondered why the Prime Minister has been so soft about him and in which interest. 'Why does the Prime Minister so weak about Jamal Uddin? The nation wants to know the reason,' said BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. Addressing a press briefing at BNP’s central office in the city’s Naya Paltan area, Rizvi described the Biman chairman as a much-talk-about ‘gold smuggler’ and the PM’s very close person. ‘He (Jamal) was one of the masterminds of MiG-29 warplane purchase graft. As a reward, the Prime Minister Sheikh had made him the chairman of Board of Directors of Biman 6 years back. He has been there in office safely as he has the blessings of the Prime Minister although Biman officials and employees raised their voice on various occasions against his corruption,’ the BNP leader alleged. He said that Jamal and his ‘so-called godson’ have created a strong gold smudging network in connivance with pilots, cabin crew and some other officials. ‘Maunds of gold are safely smuggled out through the network every day. Not only that, Biman’s tenders, appointments, promotions and postings are also being controlled by his ‘godson’. All the sensational information is coming out after the arrest of his godson,’ Rizvi added, according to a news agency.