Obaidul Quader
The Awami League general secretary and also road transport and bridges minister, Obaidul Quader, said on Tuesday that the European Union delegates wanted to know who would be the opposition party in the 12th national parliament.
‘We said that the results of the polls will tell who will be the opposition,’ he said.
Quader came up with the information, while he was briefing journalists after the EU election expert team held a meeting with the Bangladesh Awami League regarding the election at the Dhaka district AL office in the capital’s Tejgaon on Tuesday.
He said, ‘They [the EU delegation] were more interested in listening than speaking. They did not want to comment, and we did not insist either. We talked about our election.’
‘We informed the EU team that the voter turnout will be satisfactory in the coming election as people are showing interest in voting in the polls.’
A two-member EU team visited the Dhaka district AL office, while AL general secretary Obaidul Quader led the party.
He also said, ‘The EU team wanted to know about Bangladesh’s preparation for the election. We talked about the violence of BNP’s election debacle. BNP is responding to peaceful elections by resorting to violence.’
Regarding the expulsion and suspension of membership for campaigning in favour of an independent candidate, the AL leader said, ‘Anyone of the party can campaign for an independent candidate.’
‘There’s nothing wrong here. He was given the opportunity. The district or upazila committees do not have the right to expel anyone or suspend membership. They can only send recommendations to the centre,’ he added.
New Age
