DHAKA,  – Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said BNP is involved in an ill effort to make the good initiative of the President over the formation of Election Commission (EC) questionable. “By getting involved in an ill effort to make the good initiative of the President in order to form the EC questionable, BNP leaders are continuously delivering poisonous statements against the government,” he said in a statement.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said the President has already initiated the constitutional and democratic process of forming a neutral and strong EC through holding dialogues with political parties. Responding to a remark of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir over general elections, he said the EC is a constitutional and independent entity and it is the EC’s responsibility to hold elections and make those free and fair.

During the elections, all the relevant administrative arrangements, including the law enforcement agencies, are under the EC and they carry out their duties as per the instruction of the commission, the AL general secretary said. Elections are held under the EC, not under the government, he said, adding that the government only cooperates with the commission in this end.

Quader said the government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will extend its sincere support to the President’s initiative to constitute a search committee aiming to form a neutral and strong EC. “The BNP leaders are talking about neutrality, but what is the standard of neutrality in their views?” he questioned. He said once the BNP chairperson stated that there was no one neutral except children and mad persons.

“The country’s people know that their (BNP’s) neutrality will not be ensured unless their path to power is secure,” he added. The AL general secretary said the ill-mentality of BNP leaders to seize power behind the backdoors is the main impediment to holding fair elections. Being imbued with the spirit of Liberation War, the Awami League is committed to establishing a democratic state and it is always respectful to the people’s mandate reflected by the democratic process, he said, adding “People are the main source of AL’s strength”.

Urging all the registered political parties to join the dialogues, being held by the President, to play a responsible role in strengthening the ongoing democratic system of the country, Quader said the present government is working to make the country’s electoral system more democratic and modern. On the occasion of Mujib Year, he hoped that the country’s democratic system will be more dynamic through the ongoing dialogues initiated by the President.