Why did Starmer make Tulip as minister despite all this?
Mir Ahmed bin Quasem (40) of Bangladesh was held without trial for eight years. He was abducted at night by armed men while his four-year-old daughter was with him. Although the child was not old enough to understand the situation, he was handcuffed and blindfolded during his detention. He did not know where he was or why he was being held. Ahmed bin Quasem, a UK-trained barrister, is one of the people who disappeared during Sheikh Hasina’s rule in Bangladesh and a fierce critic of Hasina. Sheikh Hasina was prime minister of Bangladesh for more than 20 years before she was ousted in August. Bangladesh saw the most violence during her tenure since the 1971 war of liberation.
Tulip Siddique is an MP for the UK’s ruling Labour Party and the aunt of Sheikh Hasina. Tulip resigned last week as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s minister for anti-corruption after multiple allegations of corruption against her. She is accused of embezzling up to £3.9 billion (3.9 billion) from Bangladesh’s infrastructure spending. In addition, in London, she used the property of people close to her aunt. Although Starmer’s government said that she did not violate the ministerial code of conduct.
Tulip’s resignation has raised questions among Labour Party voters of Bangladeshi origin – did the Labour Party and Keir Starmer not foresee Tulip’s political affiliation in advance? Despite knowing about Tulip’s association with her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who is involved in various scandals, this approach of the Labour Party to attract votes from Bangladeshi origin has raised many questions. Because the Bin Qassem incident first came to light in 2016 during Hasina’s term. However, Tulip has not said anything publicly about the disappearance and extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh, although she has campaigned for the release of Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in the past.
Tulip expressed gratitude to Awami League members for helping her get elected as an MP in 2015. She also described her association with the party on her website for two pages in 2008 and 2009. Although it was later deleted. He told parliament that he had no intention of exerting any influence on Bangladeshi politics. However, the Labour Party did not see his Awami League affiliation as a negative at the time. Keir Starmer met Sheikh Hasina in 2022, which was considered a strategy to maintain relations with the Bangladeshi community in the UK. According to political analysts, it is difficult to succeed without getting the Bangladeshi vote in areas like East London.
A Labour Party source said that Starmer is a fanatical fan of his friends and colleagues, which has influenced his political decisions. According to journalist David Bergman, concerns should have been raised earlier about Tulip’s political connections. After Tulip’s resignation, there is a possibility of further corruption investigations in Bangladesh as a result of the fall of Hasina’s government. As a result, there may be discussions about whether he can remain as an MP. Source: BBC
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