State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, also a member of parliament of Rajshahi-6, has received a show-cause notice from an Election Commission (EC) inquiry committee in Rajshahi for violating the electoral code of conduct.
Shahriar received a notice from Md Sefatullah, the chairman of the inquiry committee and Rajshahi Sadar senior assistant judge.
The notice asked the state minister to explain why the Election Commission will not take action against him, either in person at the inquiry committee's chief district judge's office or in writing through a representative on Sunday.
According to the show cause notice sent by the committee, Shahriar Alam held a public meeting at the Farhad Alauddin Government Primary School ground in Charghat before the allocation of symbols last Saturday that violated the electoral code of conduct.
He made several provocative remarks, including calling Md Merazaul Islam, an activist and supporter of Rahenul Haque, the former chairman of Pakuria UP, general secretary of the Rajshahi District Chhatra League, and independent candidate for the Rajshahi-6 constituency, a "black sheep" in public.
By doing that, the notice adds, the state minister had committed pre-election irregularities, as per Sections 6(c), 11(a), and 12 of the Rules of Conduct of Political Parties and Candidates in Parliamentary Elections, 2008.
The notice also claims that Merazul received a death threat from Shahriar.
Merajul gave video footage of Shahriar Alam's statement along with the complaint to the returning officer. Apart from this, he shared the video on his Facebook. However, the word murder is not mentioned in this video footage.
Merajul Islam reported that he had sent the returning officer a formal complaint. He also presented a threatening video.
He said: “A minister has made threats in public. I'm terrified. However, I have experience in politics. He served as the Chhatra League's general secretary for the Rajshahi district. Under threat, you can no longer remain at home.”