Polls on schedule with or without BNP: PM

'Help track down those involved in question leaks'

---

FE Team | Published: February 19, 2018 23:34:05

---

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated that the national election will be held in time with or without the BNP, report agencies.
"We cannot do anything if the BNP doesn't participate in the election. The election will be held in time," Hasina said at a media briefing in Dhaka on Monday.
The BNP had stayed away from the 2014 election demanding a neutral polls-time administration, which they still want.
Now, the BNP has ruled out going to the election with Chairperson Khaleda Zia in prison.
"Nobody can do anything, if they don't participate," Hasina, president of the ruling Awami League, said referring to the BNP's boycott of the 2014 election.
The briefing at the PM's official residence was meant to brief the media on her recent visit to Italy and the Vatican.
On her talks with Pope Francis in the Vatican City, Hasina said the pontiff praised communal harmony in Bangladesh.
After reading out her written statement, she mentioned the launch of 4G mobile networks, lifting of the ban on direct air cargo to the UK as good news.
The Bangabandhu satellite will be launched sometime in March, according to Hasina.
She questioned the BNP's rationale for assigning Tarique Rahman, himself a convict, to lead the troubled party in the absence of Khaleda who was jailed for five years in a corruption case.
She described the BNP as a party with broken leadership and asked whether it had any other member than Tarique to steer it through its bad days.
"The corruption case was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission and court proceedings continued for 10 years. Our administration has nothing to do with it."
She recalled that even Khaleda's counsel Barrister Rafique ul Haque had suggested refunding the embezzled money so that she could be acquitted from the graft charges "but she did not do so".
Asked for comments about installation of Khaleda's "fugitive and convicted" son and BNP's senior vice president Tarique Rahman as the acting party chief after her conviction, the premier said, "Wasn't there any sane person in BNP . . . couldn't she (Khaleda) keep confidence in any of her party leaders?".
Several courts earlier declared him "fugitive" as Rahman preferred to live in London apparently to evade justice while he was convicted and jailed for 10 years in absentia on the same charges as Khaleda.
Rahman is also being tried on several charges including the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on a rally of the then opposition Awami League when 23 people were killed and Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the assault.
About her meeting with Pope Francis, the premier mentioned that the Pope urged the Myanmar government to be more responsible in solving the Rohingya crisis.
In this connection, the Pope also called on the global community to increase pressure on Myanmar for solving the crisis, the PM said.
She said the Pope lauded the role of Bangladesh in realising the rights of the migrants and refugees.
Asked for her comments about repeated incidents of question leaks sparking a nationwide outcry, the Premier urged the journalists to help authorities to track down the culprits through their networks.
"Please, find out those who are involved in the question leaks and surely we'll give them punishment. We don't want question leaks to take place anymore and thus we bear such bad name," she added.
But she also observed that in most cases the question papers were leaked minutes ahead of the exams giving little scopes for examinees to benefit from such incidents.
"A question often strikes in my mind, is there any talented student having a photogenic memory to reflect the answers in the answer sheets even getting the question paper hardly 20 minutes before the exams," Sheikh Hasina said.
The Premier also opined that blocking the digital system or internet services is not the right way to address this problem while education minister or the ministry's secretary should either be blamed for the leakage.
"But, it's not at all right and we'll definitely look into the matter," she said suggesting the journalists to use their pens to suggest abolishing the tick mark system in the exams.
Asked for comments about fears of the wrong application of the proposed Digital Security Act particularly against the newsmen, the premier assured the journalist community that there is nothing to fear about.
"If no one commits any wrongdoing, there will be no miss-application of it," she said.
Sheikh Hasina also said if someone commits crime under the act, steps would be taken in this regard as cyber crimes have now become a global problem.