Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad has denied the media reports that he had a talk with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia over telephone on Tuesday.
“Where did you find the story from that I don’t know? I did not talk to her,” he snapped at reporters at the Election Commission secretariat after emerging from a meeting.
On Wednesday a number of dailies ran report on a conversation between Khalada Zia and CEC over telephone.
The CEC emphatically said that he had never had a conversation with Khaleda Zia since he joined the commission.
Kazi Rakibuddin requested journalists to publish objective reports as they were accountable to people.
“Journalists should run authentic reports to help people. Do not write any such reports that generates confusion,” he observed.
He, however, said he met Moyeen Khan at his office on Tuesday afternoon and it was merely a personal conversation. “We did not discuss any political issues. We talked about social issues.”
The EC in a press release stated that the report on a telephone conversation between Khaleda Zia and CEC published in a number of daily newspapers is totally imaginary and baseless.
The press release also said BNP leader Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan met the CEC on September 17 at the election commission office as per an earlier schedule.
“The discussion centred on some problems of Moyeen Khan’s electoral constituency. As they are known to each other topics like moral and ethical degradation in the society too came up in their talk. It has got to do nothing with current politics,” it read.
When the EC is preparing to hold free, fair and credible election, such type of imaginary and false report may create confusion in people’s mind.
Meanwhile, he said, the distribution of National ID card in Dhaka will begin on September 25 and cards will be delivered at homes. The delivery of the rest of the ID cards in other districts will begin later in phases, he said.