Jamaat MPs won't take state perks, says Shafiqur

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman has said that members of his party will refuse government-allocated plots and duty-free vehicles if elected to parliament, reports bdnews24.com.

Speaking at an election rally in Habiganj on Saturday, Shafiqur said Jamaat candidates would also publicly disclose annual income and expenditure statements for themselves and their family members. "The public has the right to know whether their representatives have benefited from public resources," he said, adding that his party's elected officials would live in the same way as ordinary citizens.

Referring to the issue of corruption, Shafiqur said large sums of money had been siphoned out of Bangladesh over the past 15 years, saying the funds belonged to the people and should be accounted for.

"This money belongs to the country's 180 million people.

Everyone has a share in it-the person standing on the street protesting, or even the child being born today. But a group has deliberately smuggled this money out of the country."

He added that his party would act to curb extortion if it came to power, claiming that business owners, students and ordinary citizens were currently being affected.

Shafiqur also criticised what he described as attacks on women's dignity and religious practices, saying his party would oppose any such actions and maintain public order.