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Mohammad Yunus: under fire |
The comments came a week after the United States expressed deep concern about Dhaka’s expanding role in Grameen Bank, the micro-lender founded by Yunus.
The 72-year-old “banker to the poor” - a leading anti-poverty activist with many powerful foreign supporters - was forced from the bank last year over what his supporters say is a government vendetta against him.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh’s cabinet led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered a new probe into Yunus to check for irregularities during his time as head of the micro-credit
giant.
The cabinet also approved a plan to amend Grameen Bank laws, which would give the government-appointed chairman of the bank’s board control over the selection of a new managing director.
Muhith denied allegations by Yunus - who won the Nobel prize in 2006 - and the main opposition party that the move to empower the chairman would jeopardise the lender’s
independence.
“He has been saying that the government wants to wrest control of Grameen Bank. I have been saying from the first day that the government does not want to take over Grameen Bank and it has not done that as of now,” he said.
“Yunus is carrying out an unnecessary campaign. It’s harmful for the country.”
Yunus, who fell out with Sheikha Hasina after talking about going into politics, was officially fired for exceeding the mandatory retirement age of 60. He challenged the move in the Supreme Court, but lost.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a personal friend, heaped praise on Yunus during a visit to Dhaka in May and urged Hasina’s government to maintain “an environment where civil society groups
operate freely”.
The US last week criticised the Bangladesh government’s move, saying it would “diminish the role the largely female borrower-shareholders play in shaping the direction of” Grameen Bank. AFP
BNP promises to recognise Nobel laureate if voted to power
Censuring the government for repeatedly humiliating Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, a senior opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader yesterday said that BNP will nationally recognise him as the most revered person if it was voted to power.
“It is Yunus, who has brought the biggest honour for Bangladesh after 1971 by wining the Nobel Peace Prize. BNP will nationally recognise him as the most revered person of the country if it returns to power,” Moudud Ahmed said.
He was addressing a discussion at National Press Club in Dhaka.
Ahmed, a BNP standing committee member, said the government has belittled itself by trying to disgrace Yunus. “The more Awami League will try to humiliate Yunus, the more they will be belittled. It’s pity that they still can’t understand that.”
On August 2, the government asked the Banking and Financial Institution Division to inform it in consultation with the Bangladesh Bank how much salary and allowances Yunus, the former managing director of Grameen Bank, had withdrawn after his 60 years of age.
It also directed the Banking and Financial Institution Division to be sure whether the withdrawal of those salary and allowances was done legally.