Gana Odhikar Parishad General Secretary Mohammad Rashed Khan demanded probe against Adviser Asif Mahmud for accusing senior officials of systemic corruption and warned of a conspiracy to recreate a One-Eleven-style political scenario under the guise of electoral reform.
Speaking at a view-exchange meeting with local journalists in Jhenaidah on Wednesday, Rashed said, "When an Adviser's APS is involved in corruption and his National ID was locked. That APS committed massive corruption, was the honourable Adviser Asif Mahmud not aware of it? As the investigation into APS Moazzem continues, I demand that a simultaneous probe be launched into Mahmud's Ministry, where allegations of large-scale corruption have already surfaced in the media," Rashed asserted.
He further urged the government to initiate comprehensive accountability measures targeting all Advisers serving under the current interim structure. Emphasizing transparency, Rashed reminded authorities of previous commitments to disclose asset declarations of Advisers and their subordinates accusing ministries of non-compliance.
"There is no evidence that any Ministry has submitted reports on the assets of Advisers or their APS despite government pledge. If there are clean Advisers among them, we salute them. But all allegations suggest deeper structural rot and the absence of oversight only fosters suspicion," he said.
Turning to broader electoral concerns, Rashed Khan warned of a looming constitutional crisis alleging that an orchestrated attempt is underway to create conditions akin to the One-Eleven caretaker takeover. He interpreted the recently proposed reform by the Election Commission mandating re-votes in constituencies with less than 40 per cent voter turnout as a mechanism to prolong interim governance.
"April is the harvesting season. Farmers will be preoccupied. Voter turnout will inevitably be low and under this rule, many constituencies will fall short of the threshold. This could justify keeping the interim government in place under the pretext of incomplete elections," he cautioned.
He accused the interim government of acting unilaterally by announcing a probable election date in April next year without engaging with the major political stakeholders. While three parties allegedly endorsed an April election timeline during dialogue sessions, the BNP, Gana Odhikar Parishad and most other parties had demanded polls be held in December preferably before Ramadan. Rashed criticized the interim administration for ignoring the broader political consensus and instead catering to the preferences of a select few.
"This is not acceptable. We installed this government through a people's movement. If they now make decisions without consultation, if they act with the same one-sidedness as Sheikh Hasina once did, they will betray the spirit of the mass uprising. Such conduct contradicts the democratic values this government was meant to uphold," he declared.
"You are a government of the mass uprising. If you fail to deliver on the promise of participatory and fair elections, the history and the people will not forgive you," he concluded.
The press briefing was attended by several senior leaders and activists of the Gana Odhikar Parishad including District President Sakhawat Hossain, General Secretary Zahid Iqbal Rajan, President of the Peshajibi Parishad Russell Ahmed, President of the Chhatra Odhikar Parishad Rihan Hossain Raihan and General Secretary Abdullah Al Mamun.
