Holding Next General Election
PM asks secretaries to work impartially
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked the top bureaucrats to work impartially to ensure holding the next parliamentary election in a free, fair and credible manner.
Directing secretaries to help democracy's continuation, she said the election would be arranged in consultation with all stakeholders, so they would have to play sincere role.
The premier was speaking to the secretaries at a meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat.
She sought cooperation from them to prevent repetition of the 1/11 and ensure that no-one could take over state power through the “back door”.
Hasina, also president of Awami League, asked the bureaucrats to show zero tolerance to corrupt officials and employees in their respective offices.
All the 59 secretaries, who attended the meeting, assured her of their all-out support to construct Padma bridge.
Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan briefed journalists after the four-hour meeting.
At the meeting, the premier rejected the secretaries' plea for omitting a clause in the Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Act-2012 that prior permission would not be needed for investigating corruption against government officials and employees.
Hasina said if the ACC found no corruption, then what if the provision was there.
She also asked the secretaries to implement her party's election manifesto. “Review the manifesto and implement those [pledges] still undelivered.”
The premier directed the officials to digitise land management system and asked them not to show the excuse of legal barriers to people.
During the meeting, the officials noted that the secretariat was suffering from shrinking space following an increase in the number of ministries.
A total of nine senior secretaries also requested the premier for a new pay scale for them. Hasina said she would look into the matter.
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