Suranjit Sengupta (5 May 1945 – 5 February 2017) was a
Bangladesh Awami League
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
politician. He resigned in 2012 as the first Railway Minister of Bangladesh.
He was the
member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
from
Sunamganj-2
Sunamganj-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2017 by Joya Sengupta of the Awami League.
Boundaries
The constituency encompasses Derai and Sullah upazilas.
History
The constituen ...
constituency in the
Jatiya Sangsad
The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...
and a member of the party's advisory council. He was the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry.
[
]
Early life and education
Sengupta was born in Derai Upazila
Derai ( bn, দিরাই) is an upazila (sub-district) of the Sunamganj District in northeastern Bangladesh, part of the Sylhet Division.
History
Derai was previously known as Babaganj Bazar. It was home to two influential Hindu residents; ...
, Sunamganj District
Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a district located in north-eastern Bangladesh within the Sylhet Division.
History
In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Laur Kingdom. After the conquest of Sylhet (Kingdom of Gauiurh) ...
, to Devendra Nath Sengupta and Sumati Bala Sengupta. Among four brothers and a sister, he was the youngest. He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Dhaka
The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
. He earned his LLB at the Central Law College and practised law for a while.
Career
Sengupta started his career as a lawyer. He became a member of Supreme Court Bar Council.[ He started his political career with leftist parties. In 1970's National Election of Pakistan, he was elected from the ]Sylhet District
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division.
History
Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...
as a candidate of the National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
in the Provincial Assembly. He participated in the Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
in 1971 as a sub-commander of the Sector-5.[ In the ]Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh
The Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh was the constituent assembly of Bangladesh. It was the country's provisional parliament between 1971 and 1973. In 1972, it drafted and adopted the Constitution of Bangladesh. The assembly was dominated by th ...
, he was a vocal member of the opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...
bench.[ In the ]1973 Bangladeshi general election
General elections were held in newly independent Bangladesh on 7 March 1973. The result was a victory for the Bangladesh Awami League, who won 293 of the 300 seats, including eleven constituencies where they were elected unopposed without a vote. ...
he stood as a nominee of the National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
faction led by Muzaffar Ahmed (NAP (M)). In 1979, he represented the '' Ekota Party'' in the House and in 1991, the ''Ganatantri Party''.[ He joined ]Bangladesh Awami League
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
party in 1996, but lost the national election that year. But he made it to parliament through a by-election. He represented Sunamganj-2 constituency in the next three parliaments.[
On 24 February 1996, prior to the controversial elections that month, ]police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
raided his house along with those of Amir Hossain Amu
Amir Hossain Amu (born 1 January 1940) is a Bangladeshi politician, the incumbent Member of Parliament from Jhalokati-2, and served as the Minister of Industries during 2014–2018. He is currently the coordinator and spokesman for the Awami ...
and Abdur Razzak
ʻAbd al-Razzāq (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الرزاق) is a male Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Razzāq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to ...
under the Special Powers Act, but were unable to locate him.
In November 2011, Sengupta was made a cabinet member of the newly formed Railways Ministry.[ But after a bribery scandal became known, leaders from both the Bangladesh Workers Party and the Awami League called for him to resign.] He served as a minister without a portfolio. He was not selected for a cabinet position after the 2014 election.[
]
Railway bribery scandal
Sengupta took over as Railways Minister and resigned after 5 months on an allegation of bribery. He was accused of direct involvement in corruption of 100 million Taka. On 9 April 2012 his assistant personal secretary, general manager of the eastern region, and commandant of security were driving to Sengupta's residence with 7.4 million Taka of bribe money, when the driver Azam Khan turned them in. On 17 April 2012, Sengupta was appointed minister without portfolio one day after submitting his resignation as Railways Minister and after being accused of bribery.
''Amar Desh'' allegations of corruption
On 31 March 2013, the newspaper ''Amar Desh
''Amar Desh'' ( bn, আমার দেশ) is a defunct daily newspaper in Bangladesh, published from Dhaka in the Bengali language since 2004. ''Amar Desh'' provides news about Bangladesh from local and regional perspectives and covers interna ...
'' published a report stating that Sengupta demanded a thirty million taka bribe from an orphanage project, and cancelled the project's funding when his demand was refused. Sengupta commented on the report, saying, "The matter of asking for a three crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
bribe is a complete lie. There are 36–37 education institutions in my area. But the huge funding of this project created a negative impression with the local institutions. So I suggested distributing the fund equally to the existing institutions in order to eliminate the negativity created."
In April 2013, Sengupta brought a defamation case against the ''Amar Desh'' staff, including Mahmudur Rahman
Mahmudur Rahman ( bn, মাহমুদুর রহমান ; born 6 July 1953) is the one of the owners and acting editor of one of Bangladesh's Bengali daily newspapers, ''Amar Desh''. He is also an author, engineer and businessman.
Establ ...
and an NGO official for the publishing of this report.
Personal life and death
Sengupta was married to Joya Sengupta
Jaya Sengupta (born 21 September 1943) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician, doctor, and Member of Parliament of Bangladesh. Her husband was Suranjit Sengupta, a senior leader of Bangladesh Awami League and former Minister of Bangladesh Railw ...
. Together they had one son, Showmon Sengupta.[
Sengupta died on 5 February 2017 at LabAid hospital in ]Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
.
References
External links
US is Concerned About Human Rights & Rise of Religious Extremism in Bangladesh: Suranjit
– Voice of America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sengupta, Suranjit
1945 births
2017 deaths
People from Derai Upazila
University of Dhaka alumni
Awami League politicians
8th Jatiya Sangsad members
Railways ministers of Bangladesh
Bangladeshi Ministers without Portfolio
Bangladeshi Hindus
2nd Jatiya Sangsad members