The 18-party alliance backed Mayor candidate Ahsan Habib Kamal on
Wednesday along with senior BNP leaders met the returning officer and
demanded immediate army deployment, removal of billboards and stopping
harassments of his election activists to create level playing field.
On other hand, a 98-member team of Border Guard Bangladesh led by Lt.
Col. Aminul Islam Shikdar reached Barisal on Wednesday afternoon.
The BGB team camped at Barisal stadium and earlier a five-member
advance team of BGB arrived in the city Tuesday and met with the
concern authorities and talked about their camping and duties,
informed Md. Shamsuddin, Barisal Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
Earlier, Kamal accompanied by central BNP leaders Mirza Abbas,
Abdullah Al Noman, Air Vice-Marshal (rtd) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury,
Advocate Khondokar Mahbub Hossain, Advocate Joynul Abedin, Mojibor
Rahman Sarwar MP, went to the returning officer’s office at noon.
Kamal and his team in a more than two-hour long discussion with the RO
also handing over a memorandum to the returning officer and stated
that at least one dozen of his election activists have been arrested,
assaulted and injured by police and activists of rival candidates
during the last few days.
If the steps against those allegations are not taken, then level
playing field would not be created for an acceptable election, Kamal
said.
The central BNP leaders said although local government elections are
not political party based, it is highly political in reflecting public
views. So, if any vested corner planned for grabbing the results in
favour of any side, then mass people would protest to foil that.
Mujibur Rahman, returning officer, received the complaints and
forwarded those to deputy commissioner and district magistrate for
necessary action.
Administration and law enforcing agencies are not under control of the
Election Commission during the local government electioneering, he
said.
However, we also asked administration, BCC authorities to remove the
billboards narrating their development works and police authorities to
arrests accused of criminal cases without any bias.
We have sufficient preparations for maintaining law and order with the
help of more than four thousand members of different law enforcing
agencies. BGB would be deployed from Thursday and we yet not feel any
cause for deployment of army in the election, the BCC RO said.
Additional district magistrate Wahiduzzaman said they received the
allegations of Kamal through the returning officer and already asked
the people concerned to remove all colour- posters, festoons and
billboards.
The law and order situation is peaceful and co-existences of political
parties on a level playing field prevailing in the city. We want a
free, fair and acceptable election and for conducting that deployment
or non-deployment of army depends on the decision of EC, not on any
candidate, Hiron told.
(Our Correspondent)
