Govt doing everything lawfully in Gopalganj: Alam

“I will urge all journalists to visit Gopalganj and see we are doing everything lawfully,” he said while speaking to journalists after attending an event titled ‘The Next Wave’ at the Moinamoti Auditorium of the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) hosted by Cumilla University.

Responding to a question, Shafiqul said those who took the law into their own hands and were involved in the violence in Gopalganj will be brought to justice.

In response to another query over elections, he said there is no uncertainty regarding the upcoming national election. “The election will be held in time as announced by the Chief Adviser. A congenial environment will be ensured for the election, alongside creating a level playing field for all. The polls will be better than any elections held in the past.”

About the national consensus on reforms, Alam said political parties are sitting regularly and all are joining talks.

He said no political party had boycotted the talks. In many countries, it takes two to four years to reach such a consensus, but political parties in Bangladesh were working sincerely and had already reached an understanding on several issues, Alam added.

So far, he said, consensus had been reached on eight issues, discussions were ongoing on seven others, and three issues had yet to be discussed.

He expressed the hope that the talks would lead to a concrete outcome. “I hope then the parties will sign the July Charter and an election atmosphere will be created after the monsoon. Young people who remained deprived of voting rights for long will be able to exercise it this time.”

Responding to a question regarding deterioration in law and order situation he said the government is trying sincerely to improve the situation. “We are also getting some results. In sensational cases arrests are being made quickly and relevant laws were also amended. Efforts are on to hold trial in rape cases fast,” the Press Secretary added.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Haider Ali, astrophotographer Zubayer Kawlin, Chorki CEO Redoan Rony, writer Del H Khan, singer Asif Akbar were, among others, present, reports UNB.