The head of Bangladesh's independent Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) today sharply criticised a new law aimed at clipping its powers, saying it made the statutory body "subservient" to the government.
"The new law has made the Commission subservient. The people of the country will not accept it," a visibly angry Mohammad Shahabuddin, acting chairman of the ACC, told a function to mark the anniversary of the body's foundation day.
"An unholy alliance has acted to make the bill into a law," he said.
His reaction came a day after President Abdul Hamid signed into law a bill that requires the ACC to seek approval from the government to investigate allegations against government officials and employees.
Local and international graft watchdogs earlier protested the initiative to "cripple" the Commission. The parliament passed the bill on November 10, defying the recommendations of a parliamentary committee.
Shahabuddin said the law draws a discretionary line between "two kinds of citizens" and contradicts the constitutional decree that all citizens are equal in the eyes of law. The initiative will eventually prove counterproductive to the government, he said.
Former ACC chairman Golam Rahman backed his colleague, saying, "It is a clear violation of the Constitution.
"I believe the new law will be declared null and void if anybody challenges it in the High Court," he told PTI.
