UNB, Dhaka :
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has said that his comment about combating words with rifles during elections was a joke.
The CEC gave this explanation in a dialogue with the Bangladesh Revolutionary Workers Party at the election building on Monday .
“You must have a concerted effort. If someone stands with a sword, you should stand with a rifle or another sword. If you run, what do I do? We will help. We’ll have command over the police and the government,” the CEC had said at the meeting with a team of Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM) yesterday.
“A Chief Election Commissioner does not have enough commonsense to comment like this? If that is true then I am arrested under Arms Act, which I did under Arms Act. The police will come and take me away. There is one thing – whether it is said from the heart or a joke, these must be understood,” he said.
CEC said that the main news in the paper about this, is to bring down a man. After that, there is no more morale to work.
A delegation of 10 members led by the General Secretary of Bangladesh Revolutionary Workers Party participated in the EC dialogue. Among others, four Election Commissioners and senior EC officials were present.
