Some 385 retired bureaucrats and eminent citizens have protested against the statement issued by 141 retired bureaucrats demanding the cancellation of the national election schedule, declared by the Election Commission on November 15.
In a press release on Friday, they said the information and data mentioned in the statement of 141 retired government officials are motivated, untrue and misleading.
‘’The Election Commission (EC) has recently announced the schedule of the 12th parliamentary election. Prior to that the EC held several discussions with all stakeholders and invited registered political parties several times. Though various political parties participated in discussions, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies did not participate. It is not political etiquette,’’ said the statement issued by 385 retired bureaucrats.
They also said that in the name of the movement, arson, terrorism, attacks on chief justice and other justice houses, killing of policemen, attack on journalists, hospitals and other facilities continued in the country.
In 2014, the same faction took a more brutal role to protest the election, burning vehicles, police stations, cutting trees, brutally beating voters even hacking the presiding officer on duty, the statement claimed.
It said that the announced schedule is applicable and open to all political parties registered with EC. So, it is not clear to the common people how this schedule can be one-sided and how some retired government officials can demand scrapping of the polls schedule terming it a one-sided schedule. “Such an attempt is tantamount to pushing Bangladesh into a constitutional vacuum.”
141 former bureaucrats referred to the 'Doctrine of Necessity' in restoring the caretaker government. But 385 former bureaucrats consider it a 'one-sided' matter to continue a single political decision and demand of a party as 'Doctrine of Necessity'. They said no such situation has arisen in Bangladesh, which requires it.
The statement claimed that BNP contested the idea of a caretaker government in 2001 and 2006. By creating one eleven through various measures, the three-month caretaker government has created a situation that has lasted for two years.
‘’This bitter experience pushed the people of Bangladesh free from the caretaker government to implement the judgment of the top court of Bangladesh in the Ninth National Parliament formed through the 2008 elections,’’ said the statement.
The statement said according to the constitution, the statutory schedule of elections has been announced by the EC - where there is an open opportunity for participation of all parties registered with the Election Commission. “We do not think that there is any room to call it a 'one-sided schedule'.”
The signatories to the statement include president of Bangladesh Retired Govt. Employees Welfare Association and former chairman of NHRC Kazi Riazul Haque, former governor of Bangladesh Bank Atiur Rahman, former IGP Nurul Huda and Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, former chairman of Privatisation Commission Molla Wahiduzzaman, former principal secretaries Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, Abul Kalam Azad and Nazibur Rahman, former chairman of ACC Iqbal Mahmood, former chairman of PSC Mohammad Sadiq, former secretary Dr. Khondaker Showkat Hossain, Sunil Kanti Bose, Selina Afroz and Paban Chowdhury, former ambassador Abdul Hannan, Sohrab Hossain, AKM Atiqur Rahman, Munshi Foyez Ahmed and Chowdhury Ikhtiar Momin, former SP Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, former chairman of NHRC Nasima Begum, former judge Jesmin Ara Begum, former VC of BSMMU Kanak Kanti Barua, former DU professor Abdul Mannan Chowdhury, former VC of NU Harun-or-Rashid, and former president of SWACHIP Iqbal Arsalan.
