The Ministry of Public Administration’s Senior Secretary Fayez Ahmed has denied BNP allegations that he and some top officials held a secret meeting to discuss ways to keep the Awami League in power, terming them “untrue, baseless and misleading.”
The officers, who were named by Rizvi, issued nearly identical separate statements saying they never took part in such clandestine discussions on November 20, as alleged by the BNP leader.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Saturday said some “controversial and partisan” officers of law enforcement agencies and the administration met in a conference room of Officers’ Club on the night of November 20, to manipulate the upcoming elections.
Four senior government officials on Monday strongly protested the comment made by BNP spokesman Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
Public Administration Ministry’s senior secretary Fayez Ahmed said in a rejoinder that he did not go to the club on November 20 and that he left his office at 8pm on that night to take part in a family program.
The other three government officials who were named by Rizvi also did not go to the Officers Club on that day.
The Prime Minister’s Office in a rejoinder said Rizvi alleged that PMO Secretary Sajjadul Hasan joined the so-called secret meeting which was entirely untrue, misleading, and imaginary.
“This is because he (Sajjadul) did not go the officers club on that day,” it read.
The rejoinder of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said that Secretary of the Ministry, Md Mohibul Haque, never joined any secret meeting, and that any such idea was untrue and misleading.
The Prime Minister’s Assistant Personal Secretary, Kazi Nishat Bakul, also said in a rejoinder statement that Rizvi’s statement is totally untrue, misleading, and imaginary.
Earlier, the BNP had written to the Election Commission seeking removal of a number of top officials, including Faiz, EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, and some deputy commissioners.
EC Secretary Helal also countered Rizvi’s claim on Saturday night and urged BNP leaders to stay away from “falsehood.”
