Bangladesh
Abdul Momen No one arrested for political reasons: Foreign Minister
Dhaka, Dec 28: Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said that no political party activist had been arrested for political reasons.
He said, "We have arrested only those who are associated with terrorism and whose faces have appeared in the CCTV footage. Those who are criminals have been arrested. No one was arrested for political reasons."
The foreign minister said these in response to a question from journalists after a meeting with the European Union (EU) election observation team at his residence Hafiz Complex in Dhopadighirpar, Sylhet city on Wednesday night.
He said, "EU election observers wanted to know about our plans in the coming days, what is in today's election manifesto of Awami League. I presented them to them. We want to build Bangabandhu's Sonar Bengal. I want to build a smart Bangladesh. I want a peaceful election. I said we have a very good cordial relationship in this city. We have good relations with our opposition party BNP. There are no disputes or fights between us."
The minister said, "I told the representatives of the EU observer team that a few days ago the mayor here belonged to BNP. We never misbehaved with him. My government is Sheikh Hasina's government. Always helped. Because if the development of the country is done by which party, it does not matter. Sheikh Hasina wants the welfare of this country. So it doesn't matter whether BNP leader did it or Awami League did it. This is Sheikh Hasina."
"We have done everything necessary for free and fair elections. Earlier during BNP there were 1 crore 23 lakh fake voters in Aziz Marka Election Commission. Now we have made it biometric. This time there will be no fake vote. This year we have done transparent ballot box. Everyone will see how many votes have been cast. The biggest thing is that we have formed a strong Election Commission. Who will perform all duties during the election," he added.
