Shajahan Siraj

Shajahan Siraj is a Bangladeshi politician who served as vice chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). As a student, he was involved with the Bangladesh independence movement. Siraj served five terms as the member of parliament for the Tangail-4 unit; he was arrested in 2007 for tax evasion.

Biography

Siraj attended Government Saadat College, where he was twice elected vice president of the student council. He served as the General Secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student organization of Awami League.

He was a leader in the Bangladesh Liberation Forces (part of the Mukti Bahini) and one of the Khalifa, the four student leaders of Bangladesh liberation. Siraj has been credited as one of the designers of the Bangladesh flag. Siraj read the manifesto of Bangladesh independence on March 3, 1971, in front of millions of people in the presence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He served as the acting General Secretary and also the President of JSD.

Siraj won the election five times from Tangail-4, Kalihati. Roads, bridges, schools, colleges, hospitals,and mosques were built for the people of Kalihati during his tenure as a M.P. He served as a minister, for the Government of Bangladesh, during 1991 and 2001 BNP'S tenure.^[1] During his tenure as the environment minister,^[2] the use and production of plastic shopping bag (polythene bags) were banned in Bangladesh, 3-stroke scooters were withdrawn from the road, and social tree plantation turned into a movement.

In 2007, arrest warrants were issued for Siraj in connection with thirteen charges of tax evasion.^[3] He was sentenced to thirteen years in jail, and his wife three.^[1][4]

Marriage and children

Siraj is married to Mrs. Rabeya Siraj,^[3] who is a women's movement leader, president of the BNP's Dhaka city women's front, and a member of the BNP national executive committee. Mr and Mrs Siraj have one daughter and one son. Their daughter, Barrister Sarwat Siraj, is a practising Advocate in Bangladesh Supreme Court. Their son, Rajiv Siraj, is a member of board of directors of One Group.

References