Stay away from practising history, Inu to CEC

Dhaka: Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Tuesday urged Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda to stay away from practising history and politics holding a constitutional post.

"Holding a constitutional post, a person -- whether he's the Chief Election Commissioner or anyone else -- is not supposed to practise history and politics, and make any speech that questions his or her neutrality," the minister told a press conference at the Secretariat.

Inu came up with the remarks following the CEC's observations hailing BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and BNP governments. At a dialogue with BNP on Sunday, Nurul Huda said Ziaur Rahman had ruled the country for four years and the multiparty democracy was restored during his tenure.

"General Ziaur Rahman was the introducer of dictatorship, not democracy. He had worked for making killings and the killers halal (legitimate) and bringing in and rehabilitating Razakars in the country. The tenure of Ziaur Rahman was declared illegal by the court," the minister said.

Talking about Chief Justice Surendra Kumar's leave, he said the Chief Justice went on leave on his own and he will rejoin his office and take the responsibility as per his wish. "The government has nothing to do in this regard and there's no advice or interference from the government."

Asked whether it will affect the next general election if BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia arrested as she faces arrest warrants, Inu said, "There's no link between the arrest of any political leader and the election. If any leader gets involved in any criminal act, police will take legal action."

Mentioning that it is not the government but the court issued arrest warrants for Khaleda Zia, he said the law enforcement agencies will implement the court orders.