Cumilla District Council Administrator Md Mostak Mia has reiterated his claim that Tk 25 crore was allocated for development projects in the upazilas represented by National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan and Hasnat Abdullah, while denying that he accused them of personally taking the money.
Mostak Mia made the challenge on Sunday while speaking to the media, explaining remarks he had made at a programme the previous day marking the death anniversary of former President Ziaur Rahman, where he said that Asif had taken Tk 15 crore for Muradnagar and Hasnat had taken Tk 10 crore for Devidwar through the district council under various development projects.
"If they can, let them say they did not take the money they took," he said, adding that his intention was to highlight what he described as discrimination in the distribution of development funds.
He alleged that while Muradnagar and Devidwar received allocations of Tk 15 crore and Tk 10 crore respectively from sources including Asian Development Bank funding and district council resources, several other upazilas received allocations ranging between Tk 10 lakh and Tk 26 lakh.
The remarks sparked widespread debate on social media and in political circles after Mostak Mia was reported on May 30 as saying that Asif Mahmud had taken Tk 15 crore and Hasnat Abdullah Tk 10 crore from the district council.
In separate responses, both NCP leaders rejected the allegation.
In a video statement, Asif Mahmud said media reports had created the impression that he and Hasnat personally received the funds, whereas the money was a special development allocation approved by the Local Government Division.
"Comparing a government development allocation with personally taking money is both illogical and defamatory," he said.
According to Asif, special allocations are approved on the basis of applications and development needs, while decisions on expenditure are made by committees headed by the relevant district council administrator or chairman. He said the projects were implemented through e tendering in accordance with public procurement rules and involved activities such as installing solar lights, creating employment opportunities, purchasing furniture for educational institutions and renovating mosques.
He further said there was a clear distinction between allocating public funds and personally receiving them, adding that legal action could be considered if the matter was not clarified.
Hasnat Abdullah also denied personally receiving any money, maintaining that the allocation was made for development projects in his area.
An audio recording of a telephone conversation between Hasnat and Mostak Mia later circulated on social media. In the conversation, the district council administrator reportedly acknowledged that he had not said Hasnat personally took the money and that the Tk 25 crore had been allocated for development work in the two upazilas.
Both NCP leaders called on the public to verify information before accepting or disseminating it, while asserting that all relevant records could be made public in the interest of transparency.
