Dhaka, Nov 16 (UNB) – Jatiya Oikyafront leader Dr Kamal Hossain on Friday urged the newspaper editors to keep close eyes on government activities to hold the next general election in a free and fair manner.

He made the call at a views-exchange meeting with the editors of print media at a city hotel.

The two-hour views-exchange meeting arranged to take the editors’ opinions about holding the next general election began around 3:30pm at Hotel Lakeshore and ended around 5:30pm.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Dr Kamal Hossain said the editors put forward their opinions on various matters which are important for the Jatiya Oikyafront. “They placed their suggestions on how we can hold a free, fair and neutral election,” he said.

About the reason behind sitting with the editors, he said they have the experiences of many past incidents from which they should keep themselves away. 

“We’ve arranged the views-exchange meeting so that we can remain active and people can cast their votes freely without any fear and so a free and fair election is held in its true sense. This is very important for us,” Dr Kamal said.

“We've also pointed out some issues about government’s negative attitude and we hope that the editors and the media will keep a careful watch in this regard,” he added.
 
Earlier, talking to reporters emerging from the meeting midway, Amader Natun Shomoy Editor Naimul Islam Khan said the Jatiya Oikyafront leaders could not clear who will be the prime minister if it wins the next general election.
 
He said bdnews24.com editor-in-chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi raised the question at the meeting.
 
In reply, Dr Kamal Hossain said the majority parties will sit and take the decision who will be the prime minister after discussion if they come out victorious in the election, Naimul Islam said.
 
However, Toufique Imrose Khalidi, while talking to reporters, also half-way through, said he did not get any clear answer to his question from the Oikyafront leaders.
 
Khalidi said he told the Oikyafront leaders that Britain, India and other democratic countries make it clear before the election who will be the prime minister and they should also do it.
 
Naimul Islam said the meeting began with the deliberations of Dr Kamal Hossain and BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
 
In their speeches, they wanted to know what should be done to hold the 11th parliamentary elections in a free and fair manner, he said.
 
Mentioning that verses from the religious books of all regions are read and there are discussions on the country’s independence and Bangabandhu at their rallies, Amader Natun Shomoy Editor asked the Oikyafront leaders whether it is the outcome of their collective thought.
 
However, they did not give any instant answer to the question and said they will do it later, he said.
 
They also did not reply to his question as to how they will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2021 if they win or lose the next election, Naimul Islam said, adding that they said they would give the reply later.
 
Apart from Dr Kamal Hossain and Fakhrul, BNP senior leaders Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, JSD president Abdur Rob, Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna attended the programme.
 
Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, New Age editor Nurul Kabir, Manabzamin editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, News Today editor Moslem Uddin Ahmed, Dhaka Tribune editor Zafar Sobhan, Holiday editor Kamaluddin Ahmed, weekly Saptahik editor Golam Mortaza and representatives of some other editors were, among others, present.
 

Narsingdi, Nov 16 (UNB) – A Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinee was shot dead during a clash between two factions of Awami League at Bashgari in Raipura upazila early Friday.

The deceased was identified as Tofazzal Hossain Rana,  son of Abdullah Fakir of the village.

Mahsin, officer-in-charge of Raipura Police Station, said supporters of former Bashgari union chairman and ex-union AL president Shahed Sarkar and current chairman Sirajul Haque, also an AL leader, had been at loggerheads over establishing supremacy in the area.

As a sequel to the enmity, the supporters of both groups attacked each other and exchanged gunfire from around 9 pm to 12 am on Thursday.

After a short interval, they again exchanged gunfire early Friday.

Tofazzel, who came out of his home to respond to natural call, sustained bullet injuries in his head around 6 am during the gunfight. Later, he died on way to Narsingdi hospital.

A tense situation was prevailing in the area following the clash.

Additional police have been deployed in the area to avert further trouble.

Dhaka, Nov 16 (UNB) – Action will be taken against those involved in violating the electoral code of conduct and criminal offences, said Monirul Islam, Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

The CTTC unit chief came up with the remark while talking at a programme  organized by Debate for Democracy held at CIRDAP auditorium as the chief guest.

“We promise that we will take action if criminal offence is comitted,” said Monirul.

Mentioning that there is no specific militant threat to foil the election and militant attack ahead of the election, he urged all to remain cautious.

Debate for Democracy Chairman Hassan Ahmed Chowdhury presented keynote paper at programe.
 

Dhaka, Nov 15 (UNB) – The two-phase Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, will not be held as per the schedule this time due to the national election.

A meeting with two factions of Tablig Jamaat held at the secretariat on Thursday with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan in the chair decided to defer the Biswa Ijtema.

However, no decision was taken about when the Biswa Ijtema will begin.

Talking to UNB, the home minister said it will not be possible to provide security during the Biswa Ijtema due to the 11th parliamentary elections. “The Election Commission also wants that the congregation is held after the election.”

He said the new date for the Ijtema will be decided after the election.

The first phase of Biswa Ijtem was scheduled to be held on January 11-13 while the second one on January 18-20 next.

As per the latest schedule, the general election will be held on December 30.
 

Dhaka, Nov 15 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ICT Affairs Adviser and son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has branded BNP as a terrorist organisation and said all belong to the party should be kept in jail. 

“The BNP is no longer a political party. They are a terrorist organisation. Even, the Canadian courts have ruled as such. They should all be thrown in jail,” Joy wrote in a Facebook post shared on his verified page on Wednesday night.

He came up with such a reaction in the wake of BNP men’s clash with police at Nayapaltan on Wednesday.

Joy said the election process has barely started and the BNP already resorted to violence “just as they burned civilians alive in their arson attacks during 2013 and 2015.”

At least 70 people, including 23 policemen, were injured, in a clash between BNP activists and law enforcers in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office on Wednesday.

Police lobbed teargas shells, rubber bullets and charged batons while two police cars were torched during the clash that began around 12:50pm and lasted for around 25 minutes.