Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has said the transport minister’s recent remarks on extortion have undermined the government’s commitment to tackling corruption.In a statement issued on Friday, the anti-corruption watchdog said the minister’s justification of road extortion as a “transaction based on mutual understanding” amounts to an attempt to legitimise a serious criminal offence.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, “Barely 48 hours after the prime minister’s address to the nation reaffirming the government’s commitment to effectively control and prevent corruption, as pledged earlier in the ruling party’s election manifesto, the minister’s remarks seeking to shield the ‘cancer’ of extortion in the transport sector are deeply disappointing.”
He added, “By portraying and defending the prevailing culture of extortion in the road transport sector in a positive light, the minister is clearly attempting to legitimise an unethical and collusive form of corruption. The direct victims are stakeholders in the transport sector and ordinary citizens, who bear the burden of such illegality both directly and indirectly.”
He also criticised the attempt to cite owners’ and workers’ welfare as justification for such practices, saying this was not only misleading but indicative of efforts to protect and perpetuate the long-standing disorder and anarchy in the sector.
Iftekharuzzaman questioned that if road extortion were granted acceptability in the name of mutual understanding, how would similar logic be prevented from spreading to other sectors such as BRTA, health, education, social protection, law enforcement, customs, passport services, land administration, public procurement, development projects, banking and electricity.
The TIB executive director called upon the prime minister to immediately reject the minister’s remarks and ensure exemplary accountability through due process, to demonstrate that repeated commitments against corruption are not mere rhetoric or populist slogans.
He said the remarks could not be viewed as an isolated incident, given the widespread changes in control over extortion, partisan dominance and unlawful occupation across the country following the removal of the authoritarian regime. TIB also referred to a former transport minister who similarly sought to legitimise road extortion on comparable grounds in February 2012.
“TIB is deeply concerned that the newly formed government may be treading the same path,” the statement said.
Iftekharuzzaman further urged the prime minister, “To reinforce public confidence in the expectations already placed upon you, and to prevent a section of party leaders and activists from pursuing a self-destructive path, you must accord the highest priority to internal rectification and reform within your party. Otherwise, citizens will become disillusioned.
“In that case, forces whose ideology, training and objectives stand in grave contradiction to the fundamental spirit and identity of Bangladesh — nurtured through the sacrifices of 1952, 1971 and 2024 — may gain ground. Prime Minister, the time to set the right priorities is now.”
