Staff Reporter :
The ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance is satisfied with the explanation provided in the letter by Workers Party of Bangladesh President Rashed Khan Menon about his comments over the 11th general elections.
Mohammad Nasim, spokesperson of the 14-party alliance said that Rashed Khan Menon has apologized for the confusion created because of his remarks regarding the 11th parliamentary polls held on December 30 last year.
Nasim, also Awami League presidium member, made the statement while talking to reporters after a meeting of the coalition at his house in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi on Monday.
He said: “In his response Menon claimed that he was quoted out of context, which led to the confusion.”
Nasim also said, “We believe that the way the 14-party leaders, including Rashed Khan Menon, worked with us in the past. We will also work in the same way in the future.”
Jatiya Party (Manju) Secretary General Sheikh Shahidul Islam, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSoD) President Hasanul Haq Inu and General Secretary Nazmul Haque, Workers’ Party General Secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha, and Awami League Liberation War Affairs Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das, were present at the meeting, among others.
It was decided at the meeting that the alliance will have an elaborate discussion on Menon’s letter and try to keep the unity of the alliance intact by resolving any misunderstandings.
On October 19, speaking at the inaugural session of the district unit conference of his party in Barisal city Menon said that people could not cast their votes in the election (held on December 30, 2018).
He went on to say in his speech that the people of the country could not even cast their votes in the Union Parishad and Upazila Parishad elections.
Later, at a press release on October 20, Menon, also a former minister in a previous Awami League-led government, said the 11th parliamentary election was held successfully, but the experiences were not good. Menon’s statement caused a huge stir in the political arena.
