Staff Reporter :
Faridpur 4 MP, Mujibur Rahman Nixon Chowdhury, refuted allegations of threatening Faridpur Deputy Commissioner (DC). He claimed the recording of the phone conversation between him and a local UNO, which has been circulating in social media, was highly edited.Instead, he accused the DC of violating the Electoral Code of Conduct, demanding action against him.
The development happened soon after the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday said it would take action against Nixon for violating the Upazila Parishad (Election Code of Conduct) Rule 2016 by verbally abusing the UNO.
According to UNB, the MP reportedly threatened the DC over the arrest of his supporters during the Charbhadrasan Upazila Parishad by-polls.
He issued the threat at a victory rally in front of Charbhadrasan Upazila Awami League office after Awami League candidate Md Kawsar Hossain was elected chairman of Charbhadrasan upazila recently.
Faridpur DC Atul Sarkar is also the assistant commissioner (land) of the district.
Addressing the rally, MP Nixon said the deputy commissioner had arrested activists of the boat symbol and used 12 magistrates to “assault them” during the elections.
Terming the DC a “razakar”, the MP said: “Party leaders and activists were attacked by magistrates wherever they were found in the four unions.”
As the incident received considerable media attention, the Cabinet Division filed a complaint against the lawmaker on Monday.
The letter of complaint said MP Nixon threatened and defamed the Faridpur DC, a UNO, executive magistrates, and the local administration, on the day of the election, the day before, and the day after.
The complaint letter also attached five pages of complaints forwarded from Faridpur.
Claiming innocence
In his reaction to the complaints raised by the Election Commission and the Cabinet Division, Nixon briefed reporters at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Claiming innocence against allegations of threatening, Nixon said an edited version of the phone conversation between him and the UNO was sweeping the internet.
“I have a family-like relationship with three UNOs of my constituency. You can ask our UNO about our phone conversation, to know the truth,” added Nixon.
“I called the UNO to inform him that one of my followers was arrested by the Magistrate and BGB for smoking in a field. Some vested quarter edited that audio clip and spread it to defame me,” he said.
He added that the UNO issued no statement on the matter as of Tuesday night.
The DC, he said, created panic among voters on election day.
“He (the DC) worked on behalf of BNP’s rival candidate in the by-election to Charbhadrasan upazila,” Nixon said.
According to him, the DC deployed 13 magistrates instead of four during the by-polls, right the day before the by-polls, to help the BNP rival candidate win, and cause the Awami League-endorsed aspirant to lose.
After the day of “riots” carried out by the magistrates, the locals were outraged and he went there to calm them down, claimed Nixon, adding: “If there is a case filed against me alone, the DC will also be sued.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda at Nirbachan Bhaban, said: “Action will be taken against Nixon if he was abusing and threatening the DC for the arrest of his supporters during the Charbhadrasan Upazila Parishad by-polls.”
