Politics
Fakhrul, Khasru may walk out of jail this afternoon
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury are anticipated to be released from Keraniganj Central Jail following their lawyers' efforts to withdraw the production warrants against them in all cases.
Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukdar, representing the BNP leaders, have initiated the legal process for the withdrawal of the production warrants. This comes after both leaders obtained bail in all cases, as confirmed by Sairul Kabir Khan, a member of the BNP chairperson's media wing, to UNB.
“The necessary legal steps are being taken following the provision that allows for the withdrawal of production warrants issued for the leaders to be presented in court while incarcerated,” the lawyers stated.
Read: Fakhrul, Khasru secure bail; no bar to walk out of jail
Work on withdrawing the production warrants has already begun, with expectations that if completed by noon today, the BNP leaders could be released. The documentation related to the withdrawal is hoped to be finalized by Thursday evening.
Advocate Masud mentioned that 13 production warrants had been issued against Fakhrul, highlighting the legal hurdles faced. However, Advocate Syed Joynal Abedin assured that there are no obstacles to their release as bail has been secured in all cases.
The context for the anticipated release follows a Dhaka court's decision on Wednesday to grant bail to both Fakhrul and Khasru in connection with a case filed over the vandalism of the Chief Justice's residence during a BNP rally on October 28 last year. The Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court's acting judge, Faisal Atiq Bin Quader, approved the bail upon reviewing their petition.
Read: Usurping power AL govt showing arrogance: Rizvi
The case was filed by the police on October 29, accusing 59 BNP leaders and activists, including Fakhrul and Khasru, of vandalism and assault during the rally. In total, 11 cases were filed against Fakhrul and 10 against Khasru related to violence surrounding the rally. Fakhrul was detained on October 29, and Khasru on November 3, both from their residences in Gulshan.
BNP stuck in quicksand of wrong politics: Quader
Terming BNP a major political party till now, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Monday said they are inactive now and made mistakes.
"They (BNP) are actually stuck in the quicksand of wrong politics," he said.
The minister made these remarks while talking to journalists at the Secretariat this afternoon.
15 BNP men died in police custody 'for lack of care or torture': Rizvi
Regarding BNP's leaflet distribution programme, he said the BNP's politics is going deep into the ditch. "Before it was on the edge of the ditch but now it is going deep into the ditch," he added.
When asked about BNP's 15 leaders and activists dead in police custody, Obaidul Quader said: "Where and how did they die? Which prison or custody? Throwing stones in the dark will not make it happen."
Regarding Metrorail, Quader said initiatives are underway to reduce the movement frequency of metro rail in view of growing commuters' dependence on its service.
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He also said the coach numbers could not be increased due to technical reasons but the steps were taken to run a train every eight minutes while the current frequency is 10 minutes.
Quader, also the Awami League General Secretary, said increasing the number of metro coaches depends on technical matters.
"There is no metro rail in the world with more than 5 compartments but we have already been running with six coaches," he said.
The minister, however, said due to the increased demand, work is going on whether the frequency of the movement of metro rail can be reduced to 8 minutes from 10 minutes.
BNP announces six-day fresh programme beginning Tuesday
About the prices of essentials, the AL general secretary said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already directed the authorities concerned to take effective steps to control the price hike.
"But the market cannot be controlled overnight. Many things depend on the world situation. The government is working by giving priority to public interest," he said.
Whether the size of the cabinet is expanding or not, Quader said the premier can say it but the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Ministry of Culture may have ministers in the future.
He also said that winners from reserved women's seats can become ministers.
Independent candidates Azad, Nixon win Faridpur-3, 4
Two independent candidates from Faridpur -3 and 4 have unofficially elected in the 12th national election held on Sunday.
In Faridpur-3, Industrialist AK Azad won against Shamim Haque, the Awami League candidate for the seat.
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He got 1,34,098 votes while his nearest rival bagged 75,089 votes.
In Faridpur-4, Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury, popularly known as Nixon Chowdhury, has won the election defeating his strong rival AL-backed candidate Kazi Zafarullah.
Mashrafe secures victory from Narail-2 again
Nixon with the Eagle symbol secured 1,48,035 votes while Zafarullah got 1,24,066 votes.
The AL winners from Faridpur 1 and 2 are Abdur Rahman and Shahadab Akbar Chowdhury respectively.
BNP salutes voters for making its boycott call a success
Faridpur Returning Officer Md Kamrul Ahsan Talukder announced the results around 10pm on Sunday.
He said that the polling in 654 centers of 4 parliamentary constituencies began at 8:00 am and concluded at 4pm without any break.
Ward Councillor fined for breaching electoral code in Sitakunda
A mobile court on Sunday fined Didarul Alam Apello, Ward Councilor of Chattogram's Sitakunda municipality, Tk 5000 for violating the electoral code of conduct.Md Alauddin, assistant commissioner (Land) and executive magistrate of the mobile court, slapped the penalty.According to mobile court sources, he was fined for miking in favour of AL candidate SM Al Mamun in front of the upazila complex, which is a violation of electoral code."No one will be spared for breaching the code of conduct and this kind of operation will continue until the polling day to conduct and complete the election properly,” said Executive Magistrate Mohammad Alauddin.
BNM candidate’s election camp set on fire in Chapainawabganj
The election camp of Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM) candidate under Chapainawabganj-3 constituency was set on fire at Shankarbati in Chapainawabganj municipality area on Friday.
Firearms, bullets recovered from Chapainawabganj border; 1 held: BGB
The miscreants set the election camp of BNM candidate Maulana Abdul Matin on fire around 11:30 pm.
Local people doused the flame soon after, but the banners and pandal were gutted in the fire.
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Demanding justice, BNM candidate Abdul Matin said rival parties are involved in carrying out the attack to threaten him and his supporters.
Mintu Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station, said the reason behind the fire could not be known immediately and a process was underway to take legal steps. Saidul Hasan, superintendent of Chapainawabganj Police, visited the spot.
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Despite HC order Sylhet-2 independent candidate yet to get symbol
Despite a High Court (HC) order to allocate an electoral symbol to an independent candidate for Sylhet-2 constituency on Sunday, no symbol is yet to be provided to him ahead of the upcoming parliamentary national elections scheduled for January 7.
Muhibur Rahman, who is also Biswanath municipality mayor, staged a sit-in programme at the district returning officer's office demanding allocation of symbol on Thursday. His supporters accompanied him during the protest.
Govt declares Jan 7 as general holiday for 12th national election
At this moment, staff of the returning officer’s office and the demonstrating people got locked into an altercation there.
Later, they left the office upon intervention of the police.
Earlier, the independent candidate alleged that the Election Commission (EC) has been doing this to keep him away from the election to facilitate the Awami League-nominated candidate Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury.
BNP-Jamaat ask people not to vote as they believe in elections without voting: Law Minister
He said they would continue the legal battle until he gets back the symbol as he is yet to conduct a campaign without it.
However, Sylhet Deputy Commissioner and also Returning Officer Sheikh Russell expressed reluctance to make any comment on this issue.
Without stepping down from the mayoral post, the candidate submitted his nomination paper to the returning officer.
4 supporters of Mashrafe fined for breaching electoral code
But, his nomination was declared invalid by the returning officer during a scrutiny. The EC also cancelled it during an appeal hearing later.
Finally, the candidate moved to the HC while the court ordered the authorities concerned to allow him to join the election race with a symbol.
5 injured as AL supporters attack Faridpur-3 independent candidate’s office
Five people were injured in an attack at Faridpur-3 independent candidate AK Azad’s office, allegedly carried out by supporters of ruling party Awami League-backed candidate on Tuesday.
The attack was carried out in Ward 14 of the municipal area in Mahmoodpur, where Azad has a campaign office.
The injured include Joint Convener Abdul Rahman Jhanak of the election management committee of AK Azad. One of them is in critical condition and has been admitted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.
Voter turnout will be satisfactory despite intimidation: Quader
Eyewitnesses, including Ashraf Hossain and Paresh Chandra of AK Azad’s committee, said after the day's campaigning had ended, in the evening they were as usual discussing various issues in the office. While they were doing so about 150 to 200 men, led by Councillor Mobarak Khalifa and Atiar Sheikh, attacked the office, chanting slogans.
During this time, they vandalised various office equipment, they said.
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Asked to respond to these allegations, councillor Mobarak Khalifa said, "While our vehicle was passing in front of the election office, supporters of the independent candidate were throwing bricks and tiles at our vehicle, chanting slogans. Later, perhaps some bricks were thrown from behind as well. However, their allegations are not correct."
Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shahidul Islam informed journalists that the police were immediately sent to the scene after receiving the news.
An investigation will be carried out in light of the allegations, he said.
People have no interest in voting in a ‘meaningless’ election: BNP
The two candidates have been going at it since submitting their nominations, with a battle to disqualify each other going all the way to the Supreme Court. Azad was known to covet the AL nomination, for which he had bought the form. But when the party chose Shamim, he jumped on the chance to run as an independent, backing himself to peel away a sizable chunk of the AL vote from the party's candidate with him, as he has been working with the aim of representing the constituency in parliament for over a year.
US may take any measure with the excuse of labor issues, politics: Bangladesh Embassy letter
The Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC has said the political context of the US "Presidential Memorandum on Advancing Worker Empowerment, Rights, and High Labor Standards Globally" has many "reasons to be alarmed".
"Politics is behind what is said about labor rights in the memorandum, and the US would try to use the political purpose in different ways," said the embassy in a letter based on observation it made on the recently launched US initiative.
Therefore, the "memorandum" is a signal for Bangladesh as the US may take any measure as described in the memorandum with the excuse of labor issues, the document seen by UNB reads.
"The memorandum may also have an impact on Bangladesh's apparel sector, and it should be taken into cognizance with priority by the concerned stakeholders," it said.
The report on an initial compiled report on the "Memorandum on advancing worker empowerment, rights and high labour standards globally" issued by the US president and launched by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was also forwarded.
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Though the "memorandum" appears to be a global policy applicable for all countries, there are reasons to believe that Bangladesh may be one of the targets, said the embassy.
Labor issues in Bangladesh were specifically quoted by the secretary of state and acting secretary of labor at the launching ceremony.
US State Dept spokesperson says will ‘refrain from being drawn into’ internal Bangladeshi political matters
As per the "memorandum", the US foreign mission would directly interact/deal with labor issues, the policy may encourage the interested US diplomats/missions to interfere in many internal/ domestic issues.
"It seems that there are scopes for this policy to be imposed at individual, firm, or state level, if they anticipate/believe the labors' rights are violated," reads the document signed by the Minister (Commerce) at the Embassy to the senior secretary at the Ministry of Commerce.
‘Discussed cooperation on dev and importance of protecting democracy’: US State Dept Counselor meets Momen
The US Presidential Memorandum was rolled out on November 16.
The United States said they will work to “hold accountable those who threaten, intimidate, attack union leaders, labor rights defenders, labor organizations – including using things like sanctions, trade penalties and visa restrictions” – all the tools in their kit.
Opposition parties’ 3-day countrywide blockade underway
A three-day blockade of road, rail and waterways, enforced by BNP and like-minded opposition parties, across the country began this morning to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit and hold the next election under a non-party, neutral administration.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami also enforced the blockade simultaneously from this morning to Thursday evening with the same demands.
Apart from BNP and Jamaat, the 12-party alliance, Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote, LDP, Gonoforum and People’s Party, Gonotantrik Bam Oikya, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Labour Party and NDM are also observing the programme separately.
Meanwhile, AL has vowed to resist any violence during the blockade.
Read more: Jamaat to observe countrywide blockade program on Oct 31 and Nov 1-2
Police and other law enforcement agencies have already alerted their units to increase vigilance and beef up security across the country.
Police have also taken up positions and set up checkpoints at the entry points and all major points of Dhaka.
After observing a day-long hartal, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday evening announced the countrywide blockade for three consecutive days.
He, however, said vehicles of newspapers or media, ambulances and vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders and medicines will remain out of the purview of the three-day blockade.
Read more: BNP sends letter to foreign missions blaming govt, police for Oct 28 violence
Shun violence, work together for participatory, peaceful polls: Diplomatic Missions
Diplomatic missions in Dhaka on Monday called on all stakeholders to exercise “restraint, eschew violence and work together” to create the conditions for free, fair, participatory, and peaceful elections.
The missions in a joint statement also expressed deep concern over the recent violence during political gatherings in Dhaka.
“The governments of Australia, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States are deeply concerned by the political violence during political gatherings in Dhaka on 28 October,” said the joint statement signed by the embassies and high commissions of the countries.
The countries extended their condolences for the loss of life and to those injured.
The statement came hours before the scheduled briefing of the government for the diplomats.
The government will brief diplomats stationed in Dhaka, representatives of UN agencies and international organizations on the current situation in Bangladesh this afternoon.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen will brief the diplomats at state guesthouse Jamuna at 4 pm. Senior Cabinet members and officials of the government will attend the briefing.