The government is preparing a credible list of Bangladesh's genuine freedom fighters (FFs) and martyred war heroes, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told parliament on Wednesday, saying an expert committee has been formed to review and remove alleged fraudulent entries.
The PM made the remarks in parliament while responding to a supplementary question from lawmaker Mohammad Ruhul Amin Dulal during the question-and-answer session.
The sitting was chaired by Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal.
During the session, Dulal alleged that under the previous government, many political activists had been fraudulently enlisted as freedom fighters and gazetted as such.
He claimed that these individuals are currently receiving a monthly government allowance of Tk 20,000. He proposed forming a committee, with Members of Parliament serving as advisers, to verify the list and remove those who had been wrongly included.
Responding to the proposal, the prime minister Tarique Rahman said the job of preparing an accurate list after Bangladesh's independence had been politicised.
"Those who were entrusted with preparing the list after independence used it for political purposes. They did not carry out the task impartially," he said.
"In response to your proposal, I would like to inform the House that the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs has already formed a committee comprising experts. They are working to identify the genuine martyrs and authentic freedom fighters," the prime minister added.
Another lawmaker, Md Anwarul Islam from Kurigram-1, questioned why the country has yet to produce a definitive list of freedom fighters more than five decades after independence.
He also asked why the list changes with every change of government and whether the administration plans to publish a permanent list based on a comprehensive verification process.
In reply, Tarique Rahman said the lists prepared in the past on partisan considerations are now being reviewed and verified.
"Our goal is to present the nation with a transparent and credible list in which there will be no place for fake names, and the genuine martyrs and freedom fighters will receive the honour and recognition they truly deserve," he said.
The prime minister also said the government remains committed to protecting the dignity and honour of genuine freedom fighters, adding that field-level verification and the work of the expert committee are currently underway.
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