'Baseless lies': TIB on info minister's comments

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) today said Information Minister Hasan Mahmud resorted to "baseless lies" while commenting on its recent analysis on the January 7 polls candidates' wealth information.

In a statement, the anti-graft watchdog also said the information minister's remarks were "confusing and made up", calling upon him to refrain from making such comment as it is "unsuited" to a personality of his position.

On Tuesday, TIB in its analysis "Interpreting Election Affidavit Data: What Message does it Convey to the Public?" said the 12th national election will witness the highest number of candidates with movable or liquid assets of Tk 1 crore or more.

This time, the figure is 571, up from 274 in the 2008 parliamentary election. In 2018, the number of candidates with movable assets of over Tk 1 crore was 522.

Commenting on the findings, Hasan Mahmud on Wednesday told reporters that there is "discrepancy" in the TIB analysis on millionaire candidates and that it is "purposeful".

Rejecting the information minister's remarks, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman in the statement said TIB followed proper methodology and considered only movable assets of the candidates while coming up with the analysis.

Iftekharuzzaman said TIB has specific objectives behind its activities which are contributing to the prevention of corruption and in establishing good governance in the country.