Bangladesh Parliament Speaker rules Ziaur Rahman cannot be called murderer

The speaker, Abdul Hamid, on Wednesday ruled that Ziaur Rahman could not be called  a 'cold blooded murderer' as the house became heated over the court verdict on trial of Colonel Abu Taher.

The speaker quoting newspaper reports said the court had said, 'The so-called trial and execution of Colonel Abu Taher was a cold blooded assassination which was masterminded by none other than Ziaur Rahman.'

'The court did not call Ziaur Rahman the murderer. So the word murderer will be expunged,' said the speaker amid shouts with the treasury bench members insisting that murdering someone and masterminding the murder were the same. In response, the speaker said, 'No, it is not the same.'

The house witnessed a heated exchange between the treasury bench and the opposition over the High Court ruling on the trial of Colonel Taher.

The opposition lawmakers said the court had given the ruling 'out of vengeance' while the treasury bench members said the court ruling brought the 'evil politics of killing and coup' to an end.

BNP lawmaker AM Mahbubuddin Khokan said the judge who had handed down the verdict was once the general secretary of Chhatra League and had spoken along with Inu from the same platform.

'I insist that this judge is not a citizen of this county. He is a foreign national. That's why the BNP had not confirmed his appointment. He handed down the verdict out of vengeance,' he said.

Khokan said the government had politicised the judiciary and appointed people having third class degree as judges in the highest court. 'If the judges had been neutral and independent, verdicts to writ petitions on Khaleda Zia's house, and on the removal of Yunus would have been different,' he said.

The BNP lawmaker said the government was crippling the authority of the Anti- Corruption Commission.

Awami League lawmaker Iqbalur Rahim described the court's ruling as historic. 'This verdict has ended the politics of killing, coup and usurping power in violation of the constitution.'

The court said Zia had murdered Taher in cold blood, he said.

His comments drew angry protests from the BNP lawmakers who began to shout and sought the speaker's intervention.

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal lawmaker Moinuddin Khan Badal said the opposition's reaction were a reflection of their fear of truth.

'Mr speaker, when Hasanul Huq Inu was speaking they threatened to slaughter him. We did not react. But we would not kiss you when you attempt to slaughter us. Let us face each other in the field,' Badal said.

BNP lawmaker Abul Khair Bhuiyan said Sheikh Mujib himself had removed Taher from the army for his attempts to destabilise the military. 'After the killing of Sheikh Mujib, Taher had formed a party within in the military and conspired against the military. He faced court martial and was executed as per its verdict.'

Read the original story on the daily New Age

JSD demands posthumous trial of Ziaur Rahman

The Jatiya Samajtantrick Dal faction led by Hasanul Haq Inu on Wednesday demanded posthumous trial of the late president, Ziaur Rahman, for his alleged involvement in the killing Colonel Abu Taher.

Hasanul Haq Inu, A lawmaker and ally of Awami League, at a briefing at his party's central office said that the trial could be held by amending the existing law and that he would place a bill in parliament to amend the law.

The JSD leader said Abu Taher was hanged after trial in camera under martial law regulations in 1976 on charge of 'plotting against the state.'

The High Court on Tuesday declared the trial illegal and said that the mastermind of the killing was none other than Zia.

JSD general secretary Sharif Nurul Ambia demanded investigation of all the killings committed in the army and publication of a white paper on the killings.

He called on the government to declare March 22 as Fair Trial Day to mark the day on which the High Court delivered the verdict on Taher's killing.

The party also demanded naming a government establishment and a road of Dhaka city after Abu Taher and giving compensation to the affected in the trial.

It called for appointing an investigation committee in line with the court verdict.

Lutfa Taher, widow of Abu Taher, and the accused the case – Robiul Islam Dewan, Sajjad Rafique and Zikrul Ahmed were present at the briefing.

Read the original story on the daily New Age

Bangladesh Parliament Speaker Abdul Hamid asks lawmakers to speak decently

Speaker Abdul Hamid on Wednesday reiterated his appeal to the lawmakers of both the Treasury Bench and the opposition to speak in a decent manner in the house to maintain a congenial atmosphere as well as to uphold the parliament's image to the nation.

The speaker, in a ruling, also urged the ruling party

lawmakers not to term Ziaur Rahman a killer while talking about the court verdict on Taher murder case and the opposition lawmakers not to use abusive remarks about the court.

Earlier, while speaking on the thanksgiving motion to the address of the president, Zillur Rahman, ruling party lawmaker Iqbalur Rahim termed Zia a cold-blooded murderer, which created an acute resentment among the opposition lawmakers and prompted the speaker to issue the ruling.

Opposition lawmaker Mahbub Uddin Khakon, while speaking on the court verdict on Taher murder case, also made aggressive remarks about the court and the judges concerned.

The speaker, referring to reports run by two news dailies on the court verdict, said the reports did not termed Zia a murderer but said he was the mastermind.

'You need not to be excited. You should speak in a decent way. The nation is listening to your speeches through television and radio and reading about them in newspapers. So, you should pay attention to preserving your honour, Abdul Hamid told the lawmakers.

He expunged the unparliamentary words from the day's business.

Read the original story on the daily New Age

Two-slab power tariff hike not a violation of BERC Act

Manjurul Ahsan

REVISION of power tariff twice or in two slabs within a year does not constitute a violation of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act, 2003, says the chairman of the commission, Yusuf Hossain.

The commission on February 8 announced an increase in bulk rate of electricity, to take effect in two phases, whereas the BERC Act specifically says the commission will fix price of a particular item once a year.

'I do not think that it was a violation of the law,' Yusuf said in an interview with New Age on Tuesday. 'In February, the commission increased bulk rate of power once for this year. But to reduce the effect on the economy of a massive price hike of power by 18 per cent at a time the commission divided it into two parts.'

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Textbook Renter Chegg Moves Beyond Books

Online book renter Chegg has given students at more than 6,400 college campuses an alternative to purchasing expensive text books. Now it also wants to help them study and schedule courses.

The company announced on Thursday that it is launching a new website that integrates two social learning services it recently acquired.

In August, Chegg acquired CourseRank, a service that lets students rate courses and view other students' ratings. It also shows students which of their friends are enrolled in specific classes. CourseRank's service will be available on the Chegg website at 600 participating schools starting Thursday, but the company says that it hopes to have 1,000 schools on board by the end of the year.

Cramster, which the company acquired in December, is an online study community. Members help one another answer homework questions and have access to textbook solutions, notes and other study materials.

Both of these services seem like a perfect fit for promoting textbook rentals. When users select a course using CourseRank, for instance, they can rent books for the course on the same page. Likewise, students looking for homework help might benefit from supplemental reading suggestions (though Chegg has yet to add this feature).

By integrating CourseRank and Cramster within Chegg's main website, it's also more likely that students will log on throughout the semester instead of only for textbook rentals at the beginning of courses.

Read the original story on Yahoo News