Home Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Sunday said they have decided to refrain from assigning election duties to those who performed them in elections held under the fascist regime, aimed at holding the upcoming general election in a free, fair, and impartial manner.
“During the upcoming elections, refrain as much as possible from giving election duties to people who performed them in the previous 2014, 2018, and 2024 elections, for holding it in a free, fair, neutral, and peaceful manner,” he said.
He made the remarks while briefing newsmen about the outcome of Sunday’s core committee meeting on law and order at the Home Ministry in Bangladesh Secretariat here.
Replying to a question, the home adviser said they are taking every possible measure as none can disrupt the peaceful holding of the next general elections.
“There will be no problem, the election will be held in a better way,” he said.
Asked about whether he wants a safe exit, Jahangir said: “My children are residing in the country. What will I do if I go alone?”
About the issues discussed in Sunday’s meeting, the home adviser said they mainly discussed several matters to be done by the Home Ministry to make the upcoming national elections in a better way.
He said they have decided to take strict legal actions against the persons or groups involved in creating chaos ahead of the elections.
Jahangir said they also discussed formulating a clear action plan in coordination with all stakeholders to ensure that the upcoming national elections are conducted in a free, fair, and impartial manner.
The home adviser said they have given instructions to the deputy commissioners, superintendents of Police, upazila nirbahi officers, and OCs at the field level to work impartially to ensure that the upcoming national elections are conducted in a free, fair, and impartial manner.
He said they have also decided to warn members of law enforcement agencies and officials on election duties about their involvement in any illegal acts.
Jahangir said CCTV cameras will be installed in all risky polling stations and take effective monitoring measures to ensure security in the upcoming national elections.
He also stressed the need to arrange an adequate number of body-worn cameras for law enforcement agencies and officials on election duties.
The meeting also suggested strengthen patrolling and intelligence surveillance of the law enforcement agencies so that the law and order situation does not deteriorate in the upcoming elections, he said.
The home adviser said they also stressed the need for the complete training of the law enforcement agencies quickly.
As many as 150,000 police personnel, 585,000 ansar personnel, and 33,000 BGB personnel will be given electoral training for the peaceful holding of the upcoming election, he said.
He said 80,000 members of the armed forces will be deployed during the next election.
The home adviser said they asked to take necessary measures to ensure that the law and order situation does not deteriorate due to the delimitation of boundaries in the upcoming 13th parliamentary elections.
Jahangir also said that the fascist Awami League’s sudden processions have decreased significantly compared to the previous ones.
The situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is now good, and the law and order situation there is under control, he said.
The fascists and their cohorts tried to hatch various conspiracies to disrupt the peaceful celebrations of the Durga Puja festival.
“Some fascist intellectuals also fueled this. But the active role of the law enforcement agencies foiled their plot,” he added.
Moreover, a zero-tolerance policy has been adopted to stump out the drug menace in society, he said.
“We have asked to arrest not only the carriers but also the godfathers of drugs and bring them under the law,” the adviser added.
