Home adviser retired Lieutenant General Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Sunday said that the government had decided not to engage in election duties those who were assigned in the past three elections to ensure a free and fair election.
Jahangir made the remarks while briefing journalists about the outcome of the core committee meeting on law and order at the home ministry in the secretariat.
Asked about whether he wants a safe exit, Jahangir said, 鈥楳y children are residing in the country. What will I do if I go alone?鈥�
Replying to a question, he said that they are taking every possible measure so none could disrupt the peaceful holding of the next general elections.
鈥楾here will be no problem, the election will be held in a better way,鈥� he said.
Noting the issues discussed in the meeting, he said they have decided to take strict legal action against the persons or groups involved in creating chaos ahead of the elections.
He said that they had also discussed formulating a clear action plan in coordination with all stakeholders to ensure that the upcoming national elections are conducted in a free, fair and impartial manner.
Jahangir said that they had given instructions to the deputy commissioners, superintendents of police, upazila nirbahi officers and police station officers in charge at the field level to work impartially to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free, fair and impartial manner.
The adviser further said that they had also decided to warn members of the law enforcement agencies and officials on election duties about their involvement in any illegal acts.
鈥楥CTV cameras will be installed in all risky polling stations while effective monitoring measures will be taken to ensure security in the upcoming national elections,鈥� he said.
An adequate number of body-worn cameras will be procured for the law enforcement agencies and officials on election duties, said Jahangir.
The meeting also suggested strengthening patrolling and intelligence surveillance by the law enforcement agencies so that the law and order did not deteriorate during the polls, he said.
He said that the meeting also stressed the need to complete the training of the law enforcement agencies quickly.
As many as 1.5 lakh police personnel, 5.85 lakh Ansar personnel, and 33,000 BGB personnel will be given electoral training, he said, adding that 80,000 members of the armed forces would be deployed during the elections.
The situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is now good and the law and order there is under control, he said.
He also remarked that the fascists and their cohorts had tried to hatch various conspiracies to disrupt the peaceful celebrations of the Durga Puja festival.
鈥楽ome fascist intellectuals also fuelled these plots. But the active role of the law enforcement agencies foiled their plots,鈥� he added.
Noting that a zero tolerance policy was adopted to stamp out the drug menace from society, he said, 鈥榃e have asked not for arresting only the drug carriers but also the godfathers of drug trade and bring them under the law.鈥�