Prime Minister Tareque Rahman is himself setting an example to curb wasteful government spending, National Parliament Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni has said. He said the prime minister wears plain, coarse white cloth to ensure taxpayers’ money is never wasted in any way. Tareque Rahman is also cutting costs on official vehicles, meal expenses and the size of his entourage, he said.
The chief whip made the comments at a press conference at the National Parliament media centre in the capital on Friday (September 11) morning.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said: “Sheikh Hasina spent 35 crore taka in food bills in a single year. His (Prime Minister Tareque Rahman’s) bill was 150 taka. From the loans that Sheikh Hasina and her government left behind, we have repaid 2.05 billion dollars in debt in just the past five months.”
He said: “This is your tax money, exchequer money, your money that she [Sheikh Hasina] took and left with. That money now has to be repaid by this government. That’s why the government has said that if an MP or minister travels somewhere and comes back claiming such-and-such a bill, that won’t be accepted. Documentation must be provided, so that not a single taka is wasted. That is who Tareque Rahman is.”
Nurul Islam Moni said Prime Minister Tareque Rahman believes that not a single taka from the state treasury can be wasted under any circumstances. That is why, he said, the prime minister is also trying to reduce expenses in his personal life.
He said: “Out of 10 taka from the government’s exchequer, Mr Tareque Rahman believes not a single taka can be wasted under any circumstances. That’s why he wears white cloth, he wears coarse cloth.”
Highlighting the prime minister’s cost-cutting initiatives in his official activities, the chief whip said: “That’s why he has reduced his airport visits, that’s why he doesn’t have his own car and entourage, that’s why he eats at his own office.”
Comparing food expenses at the Prime Minister’s Office under the previous government, Nurul Islam Moni said: “Sheikh Hasina spent 35 crore taka in food bills in a year. His bill is 150 taka, for one person. I honestly can’t get a meal for 150 taka at his office — that’s the truth.”
Referring to the food bill at the Prime Minister’s Office, the chief whip said: “The opposition leader said, whatever is possible. But then I can’t eat.” He added: “This gentleman [Prime Minister Tareque Rahman] does this, and he doesn’t do it for show — he actually does it.”