Suranjit Sengupta
| Suranjit Sengupta | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 February 1939 Anwarpur village, Derai Upazila, Sunamganj District, British India (now in Bangladesh)[1] |
| Residence | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Education | MA, LLB[1] |
| Occupation | politician, lawyer |
| Political party | Awami League |
Suranjit Sengupta (Bengali: সুরঞ্জিৎ সেনগুপ্ত) (born 09 Feb 1939) is a senior Awami League politician in Bangladesh, and resigned in 2012 as second Railway Minister of the Bangladesh.[2]
Suranjit Sengupta is currently a minister without portfolio.
Contents
Personal information
Suranjit Sengupta was born in Derai Upazila, Sunamganj District.
Political career
Suranjit Sengupta started his political career with leftist parties. In 1970's National Election of Pakistan, he was elected from the Sylhet District as a candidate of the National Awami Party in the Provincial Assembly. He participated in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. In the first constituent assembly of Bangladesh, he was a vocal member of the Opposition Bench. Later, he floated and led the Ekota Party. In the early 1990s, he joined Awami League. He has been a face for the Hindu community in Bangladesh, as well as being a high-ranking politician in the Awami League.
Suranjit Sengupta is a Member of Parliament (Awami League) in the Jatiyo Sangshad, as well as the Chairman of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. The Awami League-led government appointed Sengupta as Railway Minister, but after a bribery scandal became known, leaders from both the Bangladesher Workers Party and the Awami League called for him to resign.[2]
Railwaygate Scandal
Suranjit Sengupta took over as Railway Minister and resigned after 5 months on an allegation of bribery.[2] He is accused of direct involvement in corruption 100 million Taka. On 9 April 2012 his assistant personal secretary, general manager of the eastern region, and commandant of security were driving to Suranjit's residence with 7.4 million Taka of bribe money, when the driver Azam Khan turned them in.[2][3] On 17 April 2012, Suranjit Sengupta was appointed minister without portfolio one day after submitting his resignation as Railways Minister and after being accused of bribery. According to the Bangladesh Constitution, once a minister resigns it is accepted and there is no scope to reject it.[4][5]
Amar Desh allegations of corruption
On 31 March 2013, the newspaper Amar Desh published a report stating that Sengupta demanded a thirty million Taka bribe from an orphanage project, and cancelled the project's funding when his demand was refused. Sengupta commented on the report, saying, "The matter of asking for a three crore bribe is a complete lie. There are 36-37 education institutions in my area. But the huge funding of this project created a negative impression with the local institutions. So I suggested distributing the fund equally to the existing institutions in order to eliminate the negativity created."[6]
In April 2013, Suranjit Sengupta brought a defamation case against the Amar Desh staff, including Mahmudur Rahman and an NGO official for the publishing of this report.[7][8]
References
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