Online Desk: Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday said that pro-BNP lawyers carried out attacks on the court premises to stop the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections held on Wednesday. “A (BNP) leader was held while stealing ballots in the SCBA polls. They wanted to win the polls by stealing ballots and that is why they carried out recurrent attacks to halt the elections,” he said.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, made the remarks while speaking at a joint meeting at the AL’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital on Wednesday afternoon. The joint meeting was held with the AL central leaders and the presidents and general secretaries of AL’s city units and its affiliated organisations. Presiding over the meeting, Quader asked BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, saying “Who made 1.23 crore fake voters? Do not accuse AL of stealing votes. BNP is the king in vote stealing”.

Predicting that the next general elections is not far away, he said the polls may be held in December this year or January next year. “Our main objective is to hold elections. Many are out now to halt elections,” the AL general secretary said.  He said Fakhrul warned that the AL would be responsible if anything bad happens in the next elections. “That means BNP wants to do something bad. They are hatching conspiracy afresh. They are involved in plots sensing defeat in polls,” he added.

Quader said that BNP would not gain anything by threatening to do something bad in the upcoming elections, as it is not 2013-14-like situation and the country’s people are not afraid of the BNP’s threat. The AL leaders and workers are united now, so no party would be able to defeat the ruling AL in elections, he said.

AL presidium members Dr Abdur Razzaque, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Advocate Quamrul Islam and Dr Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, joint general secretary and Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, joint general secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organising secretaries Ahmed Hossain, Afzal Hossain, Mirza Azam and Sujit Roy Nandi, publicity secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan Golap, health affairs secretary Dr Rokeya Sultana, office secretary Barrister Biplab Barua, science and technology affairs secretary Engr Abdus Sabur, finance and planning affairs secretary Washika Aysha, Dhaka South City AL president Abu Ahmad Mannafi, Dhaka North City AL general secretary MM Mannan Kochi and Juba League chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, among others, were present.