'No Secretariat meeting held to pick presidential candidate,' BNP denies Jamaat's claim

BNP leaders today (13 August) denied that the party held a meeting at the Secretariat on the nomination of its candidate for the presidential election, rejecting criticism from opposition Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

"There was no meeting today. Since Tarique Rahman is the prime minister and our party chairman, we had entrusted him with the responsibility of choosing the candidate. He called us and informed us of the decision. There was no meeting there," BNP Standing Committee Member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said.

He was speaking to reporters after submitting the nomination paper for BNP's presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to the Election Commission in the Nirbachan Bhaban.

The BNP leader was responding to a question about Jamaat's criticism over the announcement of Mirza Fakhrul as the BNP's presidential candidate following what was described as a party "meeting" at the Secretariat.

A BNP delegation, led by its Standing Committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, submitted the nomination paper to Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, who is serving as the returning officer of the presidential election, at 2:24pm.

In the nomination paper, Moyeen Khan proposed Mirza Fakhrul as a presidential candidate while Gayeshwar Chandra seconded his candidacy.

Responding to the criticism, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni, also a delegation member, reiterated that there was no meeting at the Secretariat in this regard.

"What took place at the Secretariat today was not a meeting. We held discussions there. Discussions can take place anywhere in Bangladesh," he said, adding that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was nominated and elected from a party.

The chief whip said the decision on the presidential candidate had already been taken and Tarique Rahman just announced it now.

PM's adviser and BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also claimed that it was not a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee as it had earlier authorised Tarique Rahman to select the party's presidential candidate.

Earlier in the morning, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General and coordinator of the 11-party alliance AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad questioned the holding of a BNP meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in the Secretariat to select its candidate for the presidential election.

"The Secretariat is an executive place. A top-level political meeting has been held there! We are not aware of any such precedent. Yet they are doing it. So, how do they view democracy?" he told reporters after submitting the nomination paper for their alliance's presidential candidate Col (retd) Oli Ahmad to the CEC.

During the briefing, Gayeshwar Chandra welcomed the 11-party alliance's participation in the presidential election slated for 20 August.

About the participation of both BNP and Jamaat-led opposition camps in the presidential election, Moni said, "The beauty of democracy is that we are contesting and being elected."

Noting that this Parliament was formed through a neutral election after 17 years of movement, he said BNP Tarique Rahman is working to fulfil the expectations of the people.

The delegation members include Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee, whips of Parliament Miah Nuruddin Ahmed Apu, GK Gouse, ABM Ashraf Uddin (Nizan), Rakibul Islam and Akhtaruzzaman Miah, BNP joint secretaries general Habib Un-Nabi Khan Sohel and Abdus Salam Azad.