IGP brushes aside EC fears

Brushing aside the fear of the Election Commission (EC) and its field-level officials, two top government officials yesterday said law and order is quite normal for holding peaceful union parishad elections.

Local Government Division Secretary AYBI Siddiqui and Inspector General of Police Modabbir Hossain Chowdhury yesterday told field-level election officials during their training at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre that law and order has improved a lot due to the joint drive and the existing situation is conducive to holding free and fair polls.

"There is nothing to worry about minor incidents," the IGP told the meeting, moderated by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) MA Syed. Election Commissioners Safiur Rahman, MM Munsef Ali and AK Mohammad Ali, and several hundred officials who would hold the UP polls attended the meeting.

"The less the deployment of force is the better the election festivity would be," said Siddiqui. He also informed the meeting that the government would take whatever steps are necessary for polls.

Some election officials, however, expressed concern over the prevailing situation, adding that, after the army pullout from the upazila headquarters, the situation has been worsening once again.

"It's essential to ensure security during elections and from this imperative, the election commission proposed deployment of army during the polls," Brigadier General Ibrahim Khalil, deputy director general of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) told the meeting.

Describing the post anti-crime drive, Azizul Alam, upazila nirbahi officer of Jhenaidah, said there has been a qualitative change in law and order after the army pullout.

As he demanded re-deployment of army for polls, other election officials supported him by clapping hands.

IGP Modabbir however claimed the joint drive is still on. Only the Operation Clean Heart has been closed and troops have been re-deployed in divisional headquarters.

He said the government has also initiated several steps to maintain law and order.

The CEC, however, did not make any comment on the law and order. He cautioned the election officials to go by the laws or face punitive actions.

Meantime, Prime Minister's Political Secretary Harris Chowdhury termed the election officials' statement about law and order untrue and said the grassroots people do not feel like them. "There is no such situation for them to feel insecure," he told the BBC Radio last night.