Some who called for December polls now ‘plotting’ to delay vote, says Advisor Asif Mahmud

Many parties and political figures who had spoken of holding the 13th national parliamentary election in December are now “conspiring” to push back the date of the polls, according to Local Government Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain.

“Their aim isn’t an election. It is the reinstatement of the Awami League,” he said.

Asif Mahmud made the remarks in response to a question from the media after attending the orientation programme for newly appointed officers and employees of the Palli Daridro Bimochon Foundation (PDBF) on Saturday.

He did not specify the names of any parties or political figures.

It is clear that their goal is to bring the Awami League back and then hold an election, he said.

“But the fascists will not participate in the election to be held in February. That is why they are losing their minds.”

Asif Mahmud, who became part of the interim government as a representative of the student movement that toppled the Awami League regime last year, also sought to distinguish between mobs and legitimate political programmes.

He said that the political programmes of the Gono Odhikar Parishad could not be described as a mob because they are a registered party.

“If their programme is called a mob, then many will start calling the programs of the BNP or NCP (National Citizens Party) a mob. Our political party programmes cannot be mobs. We have to understand the difference.”

He condemned the incident in Rajbari’s Goalanda where a group of people attacked the tomb of fringe religious figure Nurul Haque alias “Nural Pagla” - who had claimed to be the Islamic end times figure known as “Imam Mahdi” – and burnt his body. The government will not tolerate such incidents, he said.

In response to a question, Asif Mahmud said, incidents like the burning of bodies are extremely reprehensible. Whoever is found to be responsible or negligent in such incidents will definitely be held accountable, he said.

A “Tawhidi Janata” mob was involved in the burning of Nurul’s body.

Before that they had attacked, vandalised, and set fire to the house and memorial to him. More than 50 people, including devotees of Nurul, were reportedly injured in the incident.

Regarding the attack on the Jatiya Party offices on Friday, Asif Mahmud said that the Jatiya Party had attacked first in recent clashes and had also been accomplices to fascism for 17 years.

He said the Jatiya Party were being “audacious” in taking part in such political activities after the July Uprising and said that an investigation should be carried out into who is inspiring them to take such a “daring” stance.