“BNP has always been against technology. As you all know how Begum Khaleda Zia turned down the offer to connect Bangladesh to the submarine cable free of cost in the nineties fearing information will be stolen from the country,” the minister said, while replying to a question from reporters at the Secretariat.
According to Hasan Mahmud, BNP’s stand against the use of EVM follows their skeptical attitude towards technology. “Not only are they against the use of EVM during elections, they raise various allegations when the vote is cast using ballot papers.”
“The main thing is, as BNP has realized that people are no longer with them, they are out to make the election process questionable. They are coming up with different types of allegations as they fear their imminent defeat,” he added.
Responding to Jatiya Oikya Front convener Dr Kamal Hossain’s statement that denying bail to Khaleda Zia is unconstitutional, the information minister said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir mentioned the same thing a day earlier during a press conference.
“As Dr Kamal Hossain drags the constitution into every other conversation, I cannot say on what issues he will refer the constitution to,” Hasan Mahmud added.
Mentioning that the government has no jurisdiction over giving bail to Khaleda Zia, the minister made it clear that giving or denying bail is a matter of the court’s discretion, not related to the constitution.
“We have noticed that BNP engages in vile politics over the issue of Khaleda Zia’s health. Having talked with the physicians at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), I can say if BNP’s allegation on Khaleda Zia’s health holds water,” the information minister stated.
“Doctors have told me that Khaleda Zia’s condition is not as serious as the way BNP is talking about her illness to the mass media.”