Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her cabinet colleagues are repeatedly claiming success in forming the Anti-Corruption Commission to fight graft. But all of them remained silent on the crucial wealth statements of public representatives as promised in the election manifesto.

Despite allegations of corruption against some ministers and lawmakers in the last four years, the government has not initiated any step to probe those. But before the general election in 2001, the BNP had committed to root out corruption.

"No effort for development and people's welfare will be successful unless unabated corruption is rooted out from the state and social life," BNP's election manifesto said.

"For this, BNP will emphasise rooting out corruption," it declared, promising to collect and disclose wealth statements of public representatives including the prime minister, ministers and others enjoying the status of ministers.

The prime minister on Tuesday in parliament apparently confessed to her government's failure to combat corruption. "It is not possible to curb corruption overnight since it has spread as an epidemic in the society. We will succeed in curbing corruption if we are voted to power again," Khaleda told the House.

Describing her government's efforts to combat graft, she mentioned they have formed the Anti-Corruption Commission as per their election pledge.

The ruling BNP had also pledged that an ombudsman would be appointed within a short period. But the government just passed a bill last year for appointment of a tax ombudsman. While passing the bill, the government also said it would make provisions for appointment of ombudsman sector-wise but no step has been taken in this regard as yet.

Transparency International has branded Bangladesh as the most corrupt country in the world for the last four consecutive years and the country is still ill-equipped to combat graft.

Meanwhile, there are persisting allegations of corruption against lawmakers, ministers and even family members of the prime minister.

In the last parliament session, both the BNP and the main opposition Awami League (AL) legislators traded blame of embezzling public wealth.

Even the prime minister and Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina accused each other's family of grabbing public wealth through corruption.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid proposed formation of either a parliamentary body or a judicial commission to probe the 'wealth accumulated through corruption' by the family members of the incumbent prime minister as well as former premier Sheikh Hasina.

"The debate should be resolved by detecting whose family members actually grabbed public wealth through corruption after assuming power," Hamid suggested. He also stressed investigating the wealth of other ministers and lawmakers they accumulated since 1971 to ascertain whether they are corrupt or not.

"The speaker can order formation of a parliamentary body or a judicial commission to find out the source of wealth of the prime minister and her family members as well as that of the former prime minister and her family members," he said.

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, who spoke later, did not say anything on Hamid's proposal.

The speaker also did not respond to the deputy opposition leader's suggestion.