Information Minister and Awami League joint general secretary. Hasan Mahmud said that although BNP participated in the Chittagong City Corporation elections, it gave up at the end and stayed at home.
He was responding to a question from reporters after exchanging views with the newly elected leaders of the Bangladesh Photo Journalists Association at the meeting room of the Information Ministry at the Secretariat on Thursday noon.
The minister said the BNP had attacked various places on election day, smashed EVM machines and injured several people, including the son of Mahanagar Awami League publicity secretary Shafiqul Islam. But a violent riot broke out between brothers, with one brother killing the other. But they did not have the way the BNP needed to be on the ground to make the election competitive.
BNP's allegations are baseless, to protect the face - said Dr. comment. Hasan said BNP agents did not go to most places. They are making such allegations that they fired the agent during the election, but the agent did not go, who will fire them?
Overall, there have always been minor incidents in city corporation elections or local government elections in Bangladesh, which have also happened in various states of neighboring India, including West Bengal. Hasan said 19 people died during the 2018 Kolkata City Corporation and Panchayat elections. Even in the presence of BJP candidate Rupa Ganguly in the Kolkata City elections, her campaign meeting was disrupted, she had to run and take shelter in a house. That kind of thing didn't happen here.
Voter turnout in Corona was a bit low and it was not right to expect a large turnout at that time, the information minister said, adding that the BNP had practically never won the Chittagong City Corporation elections since 1994. In the 2010 symbolless elections, they nominated Mr. Manjurul Alam Manju, who has been with the Awami League all his life, and went to 'play in hire' at the behest of the BNP. As a result of his long career as an Awami League leader and running a foundation and school in the name of Bangamata, he won seeing that a large number of people from the Awami League worked for him. In fact, they have not won since '94, and none of their councilor candidates have won this time. Chittagong city is the base of Awami League.
Asked when he would get the corona vaccine, the minister said, "I don't know where my position is according to the corona vaccination priority." However, since everyone over the age of 55 will be vaccinated and I am over 55, I am eligible to be vaccinated. The Prime Minister said, first we will take the people later. I think after vaccinating people, it is our right after the frontline fighters or those who need to be vaccinated. I think the rights of the people come first.
Explaining the importance of photojournalism, the Information Minister said, "When pictures are added to the news, perfection comes." The way photographers bring an event or moment to life is an extraordinary witness to the times. Many photographs taken by photographers during or after our liberation war, independence movement or partition have become timeless.
Golam Mostafa, president of the Bangladesh Photo Journalists Association, and Kajal Hajra, general secretary, outlined the organization's future plans and sought the minister's help. Association Vice-Presidents Nasim Sikder, Yasin Babul, Joint-Secretary Jiban Amir, Sheikh Hasan, Finance-Secretary Moin Uddin Ahmed, Organizing Secretary Indrajith Kumar Ghosh, Publicity and Publication Secretary Mubarak Hossain, Sports and Cultural Secretary, Rafiq Uddin Enayet, Office Secretary Abdul Aziz Farooqi, Executive Secretary Zahidul Islam, Md. Harun-ur-Rashid Rubel, Zahidul Islam Sajal and Abdullah Al Momin attended the meeting.
Khwaja Mia was the first among the secretaries to take the vaccine
Khwaja Mia, the first information secretary among government secretaries, and his wife, Additional Secretary Khaleda Akter, took the corona vaccine on Thursday. They received the vaccine at the vaccination center set up at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on Thursday morning.
