Politics
Barishal Mayor Sadik calls UNO ‘stupid’ during Zila Parishad election
Barishal City Corporation (BCC) Mayor Serniabat Sadik Abdullah today (October 17, 2022) had an incident with Barishal Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Moniruzzaman while entering a polling centre during the ongoing Zila Parishad election.
In a video shared from the Barishal mayor’s Facebook page, it was seen that the mayor tried to enter Barishal Zila School polling centre with a group of public representatives and the UNO barred him.
Read: Barishal clash: Two cases filed against UNO Munibur Rahman
“Have I entered the polling centre yet? Why are you creating a scene? Am I a child who doesn’t know the rules? Why are you talking like a stupid person?” Sadik asked Moniruzzaman during an angry outburst.
Shocked, the UNO then tried to recollect himself by telling Sadik that he didn’t say anything to him. Later, the UNO told journalists that the news of an altercation between him and the Barishal mayor was “unfounded”.
Read Polls underway at 57 Zila Parishads
On August 18, 2021, BCC Mayor Sadik got into a heated argument with former Barishal Sadar UNO Munibur Rahman over removing banners. Gunshots were fired during the incident, and three cases were filed with the local police station over the matter.
History won't forgive Justice Khairul Haque for scrapping caretaker system: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday said history will never forgive former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque for ‘unethically’ creating a ground for the Awami League to revoke the caretaker government (CG) system to conduct general election.
Speaking at a discussion, he also said the political and economic future of the people of Bangladesh and their existence are closely related to the issue of a caretaker government.
“The parliament passed the law (revoking the caretaker government system), but justice ABM Khairul Haque created the ground for it. History will never forgive him for it. He first gave a short verdict and later unethically gave the full verdict changing the short version as a civilian16 months after his retirement,” the BNP leader said.
Sachetan Nagorik Foundation arranged the discussion on the caretaker government issue in the current context of Bangladesh at a city hotel, marking its fresh journey as a civic platform for raising awareness among people about their rights and the welfare of the country.
Fakhrul welcome the new platform and hoped it will play a proactive role in creating awareness among people about democracy and the independence of the judiciary as most of its members are involved with the legal profession.
About the necessity of the polls-time neutral government, he said the Awami League first came up with the demand for a neutral interim government in 1994 and enforced hartal (general strike) for 173 days to establish their logic that the election could not be fair under a partisan government.
Later, Fakhrul said the then BNP government, led by Khaleda Zia, introduced the caretaker government system through the 13th amendment to the constitution considering the political culture in Bangladesh as the democratic institutions were not developed properly after the liberation of the country.
He said four acceptable elections were held under the caretaker government, but later it was annulled by Awami League as part of a plot for depoliticisation and staying in power without people’s votes until 2041.
Stating that around 65 per cent of the population of the country are youth, Fakhrul said it is necessary to organise the young people for the restoration of the caretaker government to establish peace, stability and a healthy political structure in Bangladesh.
He said the misrule of the Awami League government-- which has been staying in power by force and using the state machinery-- has crossed all the previous colonial and Pakistani rules and HM Ershad’s autocratic regime. “The Awami League government has completely turned Bangladesh into a failed state through its misrule.”
Quader should quit:
About Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader’s comment that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project has turned into a major concern for the government, Fakhrul said commuters have long been facing serious ordeal due to this unplanned project.
“I see shops and ticket counters are being made in the middle of the road of the BRT project… I can’t understand what they’re exactly constructing. Mr Obaidul Quader said today (Sunday) that it (BRT) has become a matter of deep worry. It’s a shameless comment. He should have resigned before making such a remark as they themselves took this project,” he taunted.
The BNP leader said the government has been inflicting unbearable suffering on Dhaka city dwellers for nearly 10 years through the BRT project from Gazipur.
He said the journalist and civil society members are not raising their voices against the misdeeds of the government and the Digital Security Act. “What a terrible situation this government has created that we’re now afraid of expressing their opinions and writing freely. A reign of terror has been established. We never imagined seeing such a situation in Bangladesh.
Fakhrul urged the young lawyers to play an active role in freeing the judiciary from politicisation and restoring democracy and people’s rights.
BNP extorting money in the name of anti-govt rallies: Info Minister
In the name of holding anti-government rallies the BNP is extorting money from businessmen and portions of the extorted money are going to BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman in London, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud on Sunday.
“Grenade attacks took place during the tenure of the BNP with an aim to eliminate the entire leadership of the Awami League…they are holding rallies during the term of the Awami League without any difficulties. But they (the BNP) have taken a scheme of extorting money in the name of holding rallies,” he told reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The minister said the BNP extorted money from businessmen during their recent divisional rally in Chattogram by injecting fear among the traders, and half of that money has been sent to Tarique Rahman.
Terming the BNP as a force of ‘petrol bombs’ the minister said it is such a party, which carried out arson attacks on the people and destroyed their property.
He also warned the BNP not to forget their past deeds as they had attacked many rallies of the Awami League in the past.
Responding to allegations by the BNP that police raided the homes of the BNP leaders and activists in Chattogram, the information minister said that the BNP had unleashed violence in the past, so police needed to stay alert ahead of the rally to avoid any untoward incident.
Replying to another question about the introduction of a resolution by US Congressmen declaring the Pakistan Army’s action against Bengalis and Hindus in 1971 as "genocide" and "crimes against humanity", Hasan thanked the US Congressmen as they placed the proposal.
“It must be acknowledged, and through this continued effort we will get March 25 recognised as the Genocide Day by the United Nations,” he hoped.
EC doing its job, not under any pressure: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has said the Election Commission is not under any pressure, and is doing its job.
He said this in response to a question from journalists at Nirbachan Bhaban after visiting the Zila Parishad election monitoring cell on Sunday.
Read:Gaibandha-5 polls: Not a reckless decision, says CEC
Zila Parishad elections will be held tomorrow (October 17, 2022) – 9am to 2pm – in 57 districts.
The EC will monitor the polls through CCTV cameras, from the monitoring cell at Nirbachan Bhaban.
The Election Commission on Wednesday suspended the by-elections to Gainbandha-5 parliamentary seat over widespread allegations of vote rigging and voter intimidation.
The CEC said the practice of using CCTV cameras is recent. “We can monitor the elections from here. This is a good practice.”
“We belong to no party. We want voters to be able to cast their votes. We are using CCTV cameras for ensuring this,” he added.
Read:Deal with any intimidation in next polls, CEC asks DCs, SPs
In response to a question over how the EC will monitor so many centres through CCTV during the national polls, Election Commissioner Alamgir said, “There will be 400,000 polling booths at 40,000 or 42,000 polling stations during the national election. The five election commissioners alone will not monitor the national election, more manpower will be engaged for monitoring.”
In response to another question, the election commissioner said that CCTV cameras will be used in every centre during tomorrow’s Zila Parishad election, as done with Gaibandha-5 by-election.
Voting in the Zila Parishad elections will be held at 925 booths in 462 centres across the country and 60,866 voters will cast their votes.
Bangladeshis burning in hell, says GM Quader
Most people in the country are burning in hell, with the exception of those who are involved with the ruling party, according to Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition said this while speaking at a thana level conference of Jatiya Party at Uttarkhan Collegiate School ground on Saturday.
He said that the common people of the country are not able to meet their basic needs as they do not have sufficient money. "On the other hand, some are smuggling thousands of crores of taka abroad," he said.
The JP chief said people do not have food, clothing, education, medical care, and shelter, they do not have basic rights.
"But thousands of crores of taka are being looted in the name of development. Mega projects are being undertaken at the cost of thousands of crores of taka. But not a single project is completed on time. This proves that the feasibility of the projects is not being done properly," he said.
He said where people do not have basic rights, mega projects are being undertaken only for looting.
GM Quader also said that they have been opposing using EVMs in the elections from the very begining because it is not possible to challenge the election result in this system.
"If a candidate is unhappy with the election result, s/he cannot take legal action against it. There is no problem with EVMs, the problem lies in the man who operates the machine. Even if the EVMs work properly, those who operate the EVMs do not work impartially. Therefore, there is no chance of fair elections under an authoritarian government," GM Quader added.
The by-polls of Gaibandha-5 proved that fair polls are not possible under an authoritarian government. "Even if the Election Commission wants, a fair election will not be possible because Law enforcement agencies and administration are busy to please the government by turning irregularities into rules."
Referring to the current situation of the country, he said that the country is facing terrible load shedding now. The government cannot buy fuel oil due to the lack of dollars. As a result, the government is not able to produce electricity as per demand landing the export industry under threat. The number of unemployed people is increasing day by day.
"By promising about providing jobs from house to house, the government has created unemployment in every house," he said.
Jatiya Party Chairman said that FAO published a report last September where it mentioned that 45 countries of the world will face a food crisis. Among them, there were 9 countries in Asia and 3 countries in South Asia. Unfortunately, along with Sri Lanka and Pakistan in South Asia, Bangladesh is also on the
list. The country may face a severe food crisis but the government has no headache over the issue, he added.
Uttarkhan Thana Jatiya Party convenor Mahmudul Hasan Alal presided over the conference while Jatiya Party Presium Member and Metropolitan North Convener Shafiqul Islam Sentu inaugurated it.
Advisor to Quader and also the convenor of the party's cultural wing Jatiya Sangskritik Party Sharifa Quader also spoke as a special guest.
AL regime to be swept away by strong movement: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday warned that the Awami League government has established ‘autocracy’ in the name of democracy, but such a repressive regime would be washed away by the strong wave of the anti-government movement as people have now woken up.
Speaking at a massive rally, he also said the recent by-election to the Gaibandha-5 parliamentary seat proved the BNP’s observation true that no fair election could be held under the Awami League government.
“Terrorism and theft are there in the Awami League’s body chemistry from where they never can come out. So, they often shout, attack people with sticks, and issue threats and warnings. The People of Bangladesh are not afraid of your arrogance and threats. People have now woken up. Awami League will be swept away by the raging wave of our movement that has started from Teknaf toTentulia,” Fakhrul said.
As part of the party’s planned divisional programmes, Mymensingh city unit BNP organised the rally in the Polytechnic Institute field with the participation of thousands of their activists and leaders.
A chair preserved for the chief guest of the rally was vacant on the stage in honour of party chairperson Khaleda Zia. Mymensingh city unit BNP convener Professor AKM Shafiqul Islam presided over the rally.
The organisers said the rally was meant to denounce the price hike of daily essentials and fuels, the death of five party men in previous police action in Bhola, Narayanganj, Munshiganj and Jashore, and to ensure the unconditional release of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Saturday’s rally was the second rally by the BNP at the divisional level as the first one was held in Chattogram last Wednesday. The party will conclude the divisional rallies through a mass gathering in Dhaka city on December 10.
‘People won’t concede’
Speaking at the rally, BNP leaders alleged that an ‘undeclared’ transport strike was imposed in Mymensingh and its adjoining districts since morning to prevent opposition leaders and activists from joining the rally.
Jabbar-er Boli Khela draws bigger crowd than BNP's Ctg rally: Hasan Mahmud
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud on Saturday said that despite a lot of campaigning for three months, BNP’s Chattogram rally was actually a "flop" programme.
“Chattogram’s traditional wrestling competition ‘Jabbar-er Boli Khela’ draws bigger crowd than the recently held BNP rally in the port city,” he said.
The minister came up with the remarks while talking to local journalists on Saturday at Chattogram Circuit House after a meeting with local Awami League leaders and members of the parliament.
Awami League will hold rallies and marches in every upazila and unions of Chattogram next month and a district rally in the city later, he said.
The BNP leaders made a lot of offensive comments in the rally they held in the port city on Wednesday, he alleged.
“At that rally they gathered terrorists from different parts of Chattogram and chalked out a plan to create anarchy across the country, including in the port city. In that context we have met today to review the political situation and discuss our course of action,” said Hasan.
They had claimed 15 lakh people would join their mass rally but in reality they couldn’t even fill up one third of the Polo Ground even after bringing people from Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf, he said.
Replying to a journalist’s question he said, BNP has been continuing the movement to oust the government for the last 14 years.
Through this movement, they have become more detached from the people of the country as the Awami League has been elected to form government three times amid their movement, he added.
BNP's dream of bringing down the government is only an illusion: Quader
Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday said the BNP leaders' dream of ousting the government through movement is nothing but an illusion.
"Sheikh Hasina's government will remain in power as long as people want it. The government will not fall just because of what the BNP leaders are saying," he added.
About the recent remark of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir that the movement will make the government fall, the AL leader said the BNP leader has been making such remarks for more than one decade to cheer up their frustrated leaders and activists.
To topple the government, BNP relied on the students' anti-quota movement (against the quota system in government jobs), the anti-sculpture movement and the students' safe road movement. "But BNP has failed in all cases," he said.
Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, condemned Fakhrul's comments about the country's economy and the warning of famine saying these remarks are baseless, absurd and politically motivated.
In its recent Chattogram rally, Fakhrul accused the government of destroying the country's economy and all the state institutions by indulging in corruption and plunder.
Criticising the prime minister for her warning that next year could see a famine, the BNP leader also said, "You've said famine is likely to hit the country, then why are you there in the office? Quit power safely, otherwise, you won't find any route to flee."
In response, Quader said all the countries of the world are facing a global crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and they are looking for ways to deal with it if it deepens in the future. "Would the prime ministers of all the countries resign?"
The AL leader said Bangladesh is not an isolated island. "Although the global crisis was not caused by us, it has affected us," he said, adding that the World Bank fears that a global recession may hit next year.
Quader also blasted Fakhrul for his remarks that the declaration of 29 government institutions as "critical information infrastructure" inflicted a major blow to freedom of speech and the freedom of the press.
He said this step was taken in the interest of the state and the people. "If the security of these infrastructures is slightly disturbed, it will cause huge loss to the state and the people. It has no relation to the violation of the public rights to information, nor is it contradictory to the right to information."
The AL general secretary also said such important information infrastructures were identified in many countries of the world, including neighbouring India, Korea and the UK as important.
No obstacle can stand in front of BNP now: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday said their party will not stop at any obstacle in their ongoing movement to 'restore' democracy and people's voting rights by ousting the Awami League government.
“We want to move forward with our movement systematically and democratically. We want to restore the right to hold meetings and rallies. We won’t concede to any obstacle and neither will the country’s people,” he said.
Talking to reporters at his local residence here, the BNP leader said on Wednesday, the leaders and activists of their party and its associate bodies at all levels from district to union in Chattogram demonstrated how to brave all adversities by joining the first of ten divisional rallies in great numbers.
He said their party is supposed to hold their second scheduled divisional rally in Mymensingh on Saturday, but Awami League has called a rally there on the same day, contravening political norms. This may cause the local administration to declare Section 144 in the area, imposing restrictions on freedom of assembly and preventing anyone from rallying.
“We had announced the schedule for the rally long ago while our campaign was going on for the programme. There is no reason for Awami League to convene the rally the same day. It has manifested that they don't believe in democracy,” Fakhrul observed.
Read: BNP’s Khosru for preparing lists of overenthusiastic cops, AL cadres
He alleged that the ruling party resorts to terrorism with the help of the state machinery as they have destroyed democracy. “They’re now turning the country into a rogue state. We’re carrying out a struggle to bring back democracy. This movement will continue. No obstacle can stop us.”
The BNP leader said they have spread their political programmes based on public issues to the union level across the country
He said they started their second phase of movement by holding a peaceful rally in Chattogram: “But our leaders and workers were attacked and their vehicles were vandalized on their way to the rally. Many people were even arrested.”
Stating that five of their leaders were killed in the current movement, the BNP leader said false cases have been filed against around 25,000 opposition leaders and activists in connection with violence that was actually ensued by the ruling party and law enforcers.
He said Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) alone is not responsible for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killing in the country, rather the government is also responsible for such activities. “So, it’s necessary to impose sanctions on the government. The country’s people have already imposed sanctions on them (govt).”
The BNP leader also said their party will not allow the Awami League government to remain in power and hold the next elections under a partisan government. “There’ll be no election in Bangladesh without a caretaker or internal government.”
Taking his cue from BNP leaders, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader is also now saying that Bangladesh is under the grasp of a despotic regime, Fakhrul noted. “It’s now a fact and internationally recognised that Bangladesh is under a dictator."
Gaibandha proved credible polls impossible under partisan govt: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday said the suspension of the by-polls to Gaibandha-5 seat over alleged malpractices has proved that credible election is not possible under a partisan government.
“The Election Commission could not conduct a fair election in Gaibandha despite exerting all its powers. That’s why they suspended the polls themselves,” he said.
Talking to reporters at the Thakurgaon district unit BNP office, he said they have long been saying that a fair election is never possible under a partisan-government. “This (Gaibandha) election has proved true what we have been saying for a long time.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Election Commission (EC) suspended the by-election to the Gainbandha-5 parliamentary seat over widespread allegations of vote rigging and voter intimidation.
As per Section 91 (a) of the RPO, the EC can stop the election at any polling station or the entire constituency at any stage, if it is convinced that it shall not be able to ensure the conduct of the election “justly, fairly and in accordance with law “ because of “malpractices” including coercion, intimidation and pressures.
Fakhrul said they are least bothered about what happened in the by-polls as the election system in the country was destroyed by the current regime.
He also alleged that the Awami League government also put the entire nation in danger by obliterating democracy. They have also turned the country into a failed state.”
The BNP leader said the only way to ensure a credible national election is to establish a non-party caretaker government by removing the current regime.
“That is why we’ve started our second phase of movement from Chattogram. There was a massive gathering of lakhs of people there (Chattogram). The movement started from that rally, he said.
Replying to a question, Fakhrul said the Gaibandha by-election has sent out a message that no election can be fair and neutral under the Awami League government. “In this case, the Election Commission is not important. What matters is which government is in power at the time of the election.”
The BNP leader also said the people of Chottagram have given a message from their party’s rally on Wednesday that the movement to overthrow the current government has begun. “From here the movement will spread all over Bangladesh and this regime will be forced to resign in a very short time.”