By Mizan Rahman
Dhaka
The Bangladesh cabinet yesterday approved a draft of the president’s pension, gratuity, and other privileges bill, 2015, with the provision that presidents whose tenures are declared illegal or unconstitutional by the higher court would not be eligible for benefits.
Briefing newsmen, cabinet secretary Musharraf Bhuiyan said the draft law states if any court declares the assumption of office by any president as illegal and unconstitutional, then he or she will not be eligible for receiving the pension.
Besides, the cabinet secretary said the existing president’s pension ordinance of 1979 was amended in 1988 making the ordinance applicable from 1988, but the proposed new law kept a provision for making the law effective backdated to the country’s birth as per the earlier
directives of the cabinet.
The nominees or the descendants of the presidents could claim the pension, he added.
Answering a query, the cabinet secretary said that Ziaur Rahman and HM Ershad, who incidentally have had their assumption of the presidency declared illegal in separate high court rulings, did not receive pension as former presidents.
Besides, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also did not receive pension as former president.
According to the cabinet secretary, the government would issue metal coins and paper notes of denomination up to 5 taka.
He said that currently the metal coins and paper notes up to 2 taka are issued by the government and signed by the finance secretary while notes and metal coins over 2 taka are issued by the central bank and signed by the Bangladesh Bank governor.
