Distorted remarks by Cumilla Zila Parishad administrator and BNP leader Mostak Mia alleging that National Citizen Party spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and the party’s chief organiser (southern region), Hasnat Abdullah, received Tk 25 crore from the council’s revenue fund have triggered widespread controversy.
Following criticism, Mostak clarified that the money had been allocated for development projects in their respective areas and was not paid to any individual. He also claimed that his comments were not fully reflected in media reports.
Speaking at a BNP programme on Saturday marking the death anniversary of the party founder, Ziaur Rahman, Mostak alleged that Asif Mahmud, a former adviser to the interim government, received Tk 15 crore and Hasnat Abdullah Tk 10 crore from the district council’s revenue fund.
Asif and Hasnat rejected the allegations, describing them as false, defamatory and politically motivated.
They said that the funds were not drawn from the district council’s revenue account but were allocated under Annual Development Programme projects of the Local Government Division and implemented through district and upazila administrations following formal approval and e-tendering procedures.
In his speech, the Zila Parishad administrator criticised the NCP leaders, alleging a contradiction between their public statements and their conduct during the tenure of the interim government.
In a video message posted on his verified Facebook account, Asif said that the allegations were ‘blatant lies’ aimed at defaming and harassing him and Hasnat.
He argued that the claims stemmed from confusion between district council revenue funds and special allocations under the ADP.
Asif also urged the administrator to publicly correct his remarks and warned that legal action could follow if no clarification was provided.
In a separate Facebook post, Hasnat said that Mostak’s comments created the impression that he and Asif had personally misappropriated public funds. He said that the statement contained at least two false claims.
According to Hasnat, the allocations did not originate from the district council’s revenue fund. Rather, Debidwar, like other upazilas, received funds through ADP projects under the Local Government Division, which were implemented through the district council.
He further said that the administrator’s claim that he and Asif had ‘taken’ the money was misleading, as the funds had been spent on 42 development projects.
