The City minister Tulip Siddiq used to frequent the opulent retreat, but after Sheikh Hasina, the longest-serving prime leader of Bangladesh, left the nation, it was plundered and vandalised. The mother of Ms. Siddiq, Sheikh Rehana, is the sister of Hasina, 76, who was overthrown after 15 years in office and is currently in India.
This week, photographs of the signs that read "Tulips's Territory" in the gardens of Ms. Siddiq's father's home in the village of Kanaiya were highlighted in Bangladeshi media.Opponents of Hasina's rule were attacked, detained, and imprisoned in secret while extrajudicial killings were carried out. Enraged citizens have targeted facilities associated with the previous leader and her family as the nation switches to an interim administration.
According to local media, Ms. Siddiq's family was still using the Kanaiya property up until recently. However, according to The Telegraph, the minister last made a visit there in 2019, and she has never gone there with her aunt. Many years ago, her name was put on a wall plaque and another brick planter surrounding a garden area. Her father intended to replace painted signs from her childhood with the "Tulip's Territory" plaques in order to preserve family memories.
The property itself is called “Rupi’s Retreat”, and it includes signs dedicated to other family members, including one referring to “Bobby’s Bungalow”. Ms Siddiq does not own any part of the estate.
The estate, 20 miles north of the capital Dhaka, includes a large red duplex house overlooking a huge pond surrounded by greenery and fruit trees.
The wider plot is said to include guest rooms and several more ponds but has now been looted and vandalised, with windows smashed and debris littering floors.
One Bangladeshi outlet said the estate is “full of aesthetic and natural beauty” and “a perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life”.It has reported that Ms Siddiq and other family used to visit in winter, and at other times cars with national flags would be seen entering and law enforcement would guard the gates.
“It speaks to the heart of garden luxury,” a local newspaper said, also claiming that a minister in Hasina’s government had held emergency meetings there.
Ms Siddiq has previously faced scrutiny over her properties in the UK after failing to declare a London rental. The parliamentary standards commissioner cleared the MP, saying the property had been inadvertently registered late.
Asked about the holiday home in Bangladesh, a Labour party spokesman said: “This is not Tulip’s property and Tulip does not own any property outside of the United Kingdom.”
Source-Daily Telegraph