BNP sets allegations from earlier

Turning down the allegation of BNP on the city polls, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has said their (BNP) efforts were to make the two city corporation elections questionable from the very beginning.

He said, “They fixed some allegations from earlier. They will raise the allegations set previously, no matter what the result is.”

Hasan Mahmud told this to the reporters at the Awami League president’s political office in city’s Dhanmondi on Saturday noon.

He futher said, “A festive environment prevailed across the city during the electoral campaign . . . The voters were also exercising their franchise in a festive mood and the polls environment is much better than in the past,”

About the presence of voters at the beginning of the voting at polling centers, Hasan said this is winter session and today is holiday. For this, the presence of voters was less, but the number of the voters increased later, he added.

The minister hoped that the voters would exercise their democratic rights by casting votes. “The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) also worked as polling agents. None could give votes without fingerprint or identity card. There is no scope of vote rigging,” said Hasan, also the AL joint general secretary.

Besides, he said, the absence of BNP activists in the polling centers is their organizational weakness and they (activists) became frustrated over their leaderships.

Thanking BNP for joining the polls, Hasan said they (BNP) went to foreign diplomats and tried to make the polls controversial.

Dhaka/Parvez/AKA